The Curious and the Shiny
by NebulaDreams
Summary: Two old friends, a Luxray and Lucario, reunite after five years, but broken friendships aren't easily mended. Ghosts of their past haunt them in the form of a mysterious organization, GeL. In their journey to repair their relationship, they face their repressed memories, meet new allies, and teach themselves and others to bridge the gap between Pokémon and mankind. [Revision 3]
1. Dendemille's Dilemma

_**Edit (11/02/20):** From this date, chapters 1-17 will have new revisions, which have minimal changes to the overall story, but a lot more polish as well as expanded characterisation. I'll give more of an explanation in the author's notes at the end, but I'll get the preamble out of the way for now and let you guys get stuck into the story, for those who have just started reading._

* * *

The sunlit gravel scorched all that touched it, yet the Luxray dashed through. Even as his paws blistered from the rough terrain and his wounds burned with the intense heat in the air, he had to keep running. Each footstep that stomped from behind served as a reminder of what was chasing after him.

He ran towards the cityscapes ahead, where humans awaited, along with the promise of relief from his injuries, and afterwards, a normal life. Behind, though, was them. He didn't want to imagine what they had in store for him if they caught him.

The more he ran, the more he wheezed with exhaustion, and by the time he reached the junction where the roads from the other cities converged, he stopped to catch his breath. Cars, vans and trucks all honked in cacophony. And in them, humans. He ran alongside the asphalt, shouting to anyone that might've listened. Surely, one person must've seen his condition and stopped to help, but nobody did; vehicles blitzing through the road. Why didn't they stop? His heart pumped. How far behind were those grunts?

In desperation, he flung himself into the highway, into the path of oncoming cars which swerved in different directions and blared furiously. Sense came back long enough for the Luxray to dodge out of the way out of the road, but it was too late. Another car crashed into his side, sending him spinning across the baking road before rolling on his back.

Dull pain spread through his stomach, and he wheezed, trying to get a sense of how bad his injuries were. He looked down at his belly and there was-

There were his…

Oh god.

He couldn't process what he saw, but one definite thought burned in his head: he was about to die. There would be no justice for what happened. None of his questions would be answered. His dreams would never be realised. But silhouettes entered his blurred vision. They would at least be there to hear his last words.

 _"P-please,"_ he croaked in human tongue, _"I, I wanna l-live. P-please, h-help."_

With the sun shining above him, his vision faded to black.

* * *

 ** _The Curious and the Shiny Part 1: Fractured Memories_**

 **The Chase Arc**

Chapter 1. Dendemille's Dilemma

Shine woke up with the memory of his escape five years ago echoing in his head. He squinted as light from the windows danced on his face and the wind chimes echoed, stirring him from his slumber. It was morning. Another morning like all the others. For a while, he stayed there, curling himself in a ball at the end of the bed, just for a moment longer. Only for a moment though, as a familiar hand patted Shine's belly, firmly, but softly, across his scar where the car had hit him.

"C'mon, Shine," his trainer, Tony, said. "We should get ready soon."

The Luxray understood everything the human said, but he only groaned, retreating further into his half-sleep. Each day usually started like this, which was always for hardest for him as he preferred to sleep in. Why wake up? The days were the same and the world moved around Shine while he lay dormant. Why bother? No matter how much he tried to delay those thoughts with distractions, those fractured memories wouldn't leave him alone. What was the point? The only thing that brought him back into the world was the feel of his trainer's hand stroking at his side.

"I woke up a little earlier than usual so I'm willing to give you a wash, since it's been a while. Would you like that?"

Though it was just another part of his routine at that point, it was hard to say no to Tony's soothing voice. So he opened his remaining eye, stretched on the bedspread and followed Tony, who was already dressed in his anti-static gear, into the bathroom where he sat down on the smooth floor and allowed his trainer to rinse him off with the shower. He took extra care to suppress his electric field, even though his trainer was protected. As he waited, the question lingered on Shine's lips, and although he didn't wish to complain to his trainer, who had worked so hard on their project in between shifts, he had to ask.

 _"Sorry to bring this up again,"_ Shine said in his immaculate human tongue, _"But are you planning on going back to the documentary at some point?"_

Tony grunted as he squirted pet shampoo onto Shine's body with gloved hands. When Shine first met him, he remembered his speech skills took Tony by surprise, but after living together for so long, his trainer got used to his special talent.

"To be honest, I really don't know. I want to work on it, sure, but there's not much else we can do. We only partly know about what happened to you, we don't know where your friends have gone, or who was even responsible for the takeover in the first place. I've looked in the papers, in the libraries, everywhere, but can't find any more info on the facility than what you've given me. I'm really sorry, but that's all I can say for now."

He sighed. As much as it frustrated him, they had found no leads at all, even after months of sifting through all the contacts, as there was no other trace of the GeL project's existence anywhere. It was like finding a needle in a haystack, or perhaps a less-cliched human idiom to the same effect.

 _"I see. Sorry."_

"Besides," Tony said, rubbing the soap suds all over the Luxray's body, "With your memories the way they are, honestly, it's difficult to put two and two together. Until the Hypno-Therapist can sort through their waiting list, which won't be for a few months, I'm kind of stumped here."

 _"Alright. Again, I'm sorry if I'm being a pain."_

"Don't be silly, Shine. If I wasn't interested, I never would've started this documentary business in the first place. You're doing fine. Personally, I'd just sit on it for a few days and come back later. We both deserve a bit of a break from it."

Shine hummed as Tony rinsed the shampoo off, then winced when he combed the wooden brush through his thick fur.

"In the meantime, while I'm at work, the best thing I can suggest is to go outside. Some exercise might help. Or maybe you could pass on your special skills to another Pokemon looking to connect with their trainers, if it'd help take your mind off things."

 _"Perhaps."_ He had quite a bit of fun teaching that Bunnelby arithmetic and parts of the human tongue, as he learned during his first year at GeL, but aside from that, he found little motivation to teach every Pokemon in Ambrette that language. There were only a few in this town that had similar skills to him, and they usually had business somewhere else in the bigger cities.

"Or maybe you could get yourself a treat, like a turnover or another good book to read. I don't mind spoiling you if that's what you want."

 _"Thanks, but the library's enough for me, and there's still the computer. Besides, I don't want to keep sponging off of you. You do enough for me without wasting your savings."_

Tony chuckled as he turned the water off and patted Shine dry with the towel. "I really don't mind. Look at me though, Shine."

He obliged and looked into his trainer's eyes, which visibly smiled even though he couldn't see the mouth through that mask.

"You've got to enjoy yourself more. You're here where it's peaceful, and you have freedoms that a lot of Pokemon wouldn't dream of having without your skills. Why not make the most of it?"

A pang of guilt nestled in Shine's gut. As much as he wanted to keep up with Tony's boundless energy, he always found himself lagging behind. There were still the memories that revisited him, some good, but buried by the rest. The yelling. The fights. The eye. The arm. The mask. The taste of oxidation. The screams. The broken dreams. But he was free from that now. At least, he hoped so. His eye moistened as those fragments of time resurfaced, and Tony embraced him, hugging him tight through that suit. It felt strangely comforting even as the rubber stuck to Shine's coat.

"It's alright, it's alright. You don't need to worry anymore."

 _"I-I know,"_ Shine said through his sniffles. _"I-I'll try to en-enjoy today. Thanks."_

After Tony dried him off, the two made small talk over a breakfast of Tepig rashers about the things Tony experienced on his marine trip. Seeing Tony in a scuba suit, taking an underwater selfie with a Mantine made Shine laugh, allowing him to forget about his worries for a bit. If only his typing allowed him to swim, then he'd have all sorts of adventures under the sea, like the ones in his stories. After his trainer waved goodbye to head for work, though, the house was silent once more. Shine laid down on the couch for a minute, staring at the clock that ticked constantly, and sighed. With each movement of the dial, that quiet started to eat away at him. A second would pass, and then a minute, and then an hour, and then a whole day would've been wasted. Days he could've spent outside, or with friends. But they were—

Shine shook his head. He had to get out of there, even if it was temporary, and so, he opened the door out of the apartment and it locked behind him. He stared out beyond the railing where the beach was in full view, as Wingull glided in the distance and dinghies bobbed up and down on the glistening sea. Although this apartment complex was dense, it allowed him a full view of Ambrette's coast in all its glory, which always soothed his heart. From then on, Shine was ready to take on the day.

Shine strolled through the sunlit streets, which was stacked upon a series of wide cliffs. Like these cliffs, the buildings were often packed together on the street, forming a modest, but sizeable community within the neighbourhood. As Shine padded along the pavement, his collar jingled proudly, given to him by his owner. The townsfolk passed, and while some were nonplussed by the Luxray's presence, there were other familiar, yet nameless faces that sometimes smiled at him, alongside their Pokemon that stared on with passing interest. He didn't mean to detour to say hello, as his destination in the middle of town was the library.

His presence there was welcomed by the members of staff, who had gotten used to the prospect of a lone Luxray at that point. They attended to his needs, retrieving a fantasy book for him to sink his teeth into and newspapers for him to leaf through. He took those in his mouth, walked to the back of the library building and laid them out in the garden in his favourite spot underneath the big tree.

There, he read under the cool shade, and moments later, a Murkrow appeared, fluttering towards him before perching on a bit of tree bark. Her name was Bauble, and she wore a red string anklet above her foot, which she proudly shook at Shine.

"Hey Shine!" she cawed, wiggling her talons, "Someone tied this for me! Do you like it?"

"Yes," he said with a smile. "It suits you."

"And so does your collar!" It didn't take long for her to stick her beak into Shine's neck, fiddling about with the red accessory. "I bet it'll look great in my collection!"

He shook his head, almost whipping Bauble in the face with his mane in an effort to get her off.

"You're not stealing this again. You don't just take from other people."

"Sure I do!" she said with a grin. "Anywho, you know what I came for, so let's get to it!"

He hummed a reply and the two huddled close to each other. Shine got his paws on the Lumiose Times' Regional Roundup first, as Bauble liked to hear about events happening within Kalos, particularly those that centred around Pokemon related affairs. When Shine read on his own, he would read about a variety of topics, from book reviews to political features. Not only did he find this entertaining, there was another reason he looked through them so religiously. For there was some hope left he would find out more about the GeL project from there, or the whereabouts of the remaining subjects. However, once when he attempted to read a piece about Kalos' national debt, Bauble flew off in a huff, so whenever they were together, Shine made sure to read on her interest level.

"Whozzat?"

There was a picture of a masked Machoke holding up a championship belt triumphantly. Although he had no interest in sports, Shine knew him as Rex Revolver. On the top however, was the headline 'REX RETIRES!' with the caption 'Consecutive four year Machampion calls it quits!'

"He seems pretty satisfied!" Bauble said.

"He's quitting."

"Aw. Well that sucks."

"Do you want me to read on?"

"Eh, don't care for sports."

Having said that, Bauble still had her biases. They continued on, flicking from page to page. The next article of interest had a picture of camera footage, with a group of Scraggy and Scrafty crowding around something in the middle. Shine read out the headings.

"Scraggy Syndrome - Should we arrest criminal Pokemon?"

Bauble crowed in anger.

"That's the stupidest thing I've heard in a while! Why don't they just let us be! Do humans really get paid to write this stuff?"

"Yes, depending on whether or not they're freelance, they can either get paid for each article they write or..." Shine trailed off, realising that he was going off on a tangent. It was pointless to explain to someone of Bauble's fleeting interest all the intricacies of the judicial system, and how there was essentially none for Pokemon, allowing the police or trainers to take matters into their own hands, for better or for worse.

"I don't really have a good answer for that."

"They shouldn't be paid at all if you ask me!"

Shine brushed aside her comment and continued looking.

"Oh, Shine!" Bauble said. "When can I see your film?"

"Probably never at this rate," he said, not taking his eye off the paper.

"What?" Bauble screeched. "Why not? Do you hate me?"

"Trust me, it has nothing to do with that. We've worked on it a lot, but doesn't look like we have the right angle for it yet."

"Can't I take one little peek at it?"

"It's not up to me, I'm afraid. It's mostly Tony's project, since he's the one putting it all together."

"Forget Tony! Why not do it when he's out?"

Shine sighed. Perhaps he shouldn't have let it slip to a random Pokemon that frequently tried to steal from him. But she already expressed an interest in their project, so it was too late to say no at that point.

"I'll consider it."

Bauble pouted and turned her head dismissively.

"Whatever. Continue."

Before Shine turned the page, he caught sight of a picture featuring a Scrafty posing in front of a graffitied brick wall, accompanied by other odd types of Pokemon. This wouldn't have been odd except for the fact they were wearing clothes and jewelry. Oh well. He'd look up the article later when he wasn't under the threat of being pecked.

"A Car-Free Lumiose - Gogoat leads to less congestion, study finds."

"Boring," Bauble said. "Slow news day, isn't it?"

"A little," Shine muttered.

When Shine turned the next page, the photo sent a chill through Shine's spine. The image, taking up half the page, featured a night-time scene of a Lucario throwing a punch at a gathering of shadows, where the most important detail was their left arm. The arm they used to punch with wasn't the same length as the other, had five fingers instead of three claws, and shone like a jewel underneath the street-lamps. Shine's heart leapt in his chest. He brought himself as close to the photo as possible, checking the details of the arm multiple times to see if it really was like that Lucario's, and more after that, trying to prove himself wrong. But after the seventh time, there was no doubt about it. The Lucario in that picture had an artificial arm.

The Lucario in that picture was none other than one of the old subjects of GeL: Curio.

"T-that's her!" he exclaimed.

"Whozzer?" Bauble shrieked. "Read the paper, why don't ya? It's the only interestin' thing here so far!"

Shine almost leapt from his spot. All he wanted was to run to Tony's workplace and tell him they had a lead, but when he thought about the context behind the photo, he anchored himself down and read through the article.

"A Lucario was spotted at night battling against the gang of stray Pokemon, believed to be known as the 'Thousand Claws', who have terrorised Dendemille Town ever since their arrival, with muggings and reported kidnappings of other Pokemon. The altercation lasted only a minute as they dispersed when the police came. So far, the details of the Lucario are elusive, but as they have speech skills similar to that of humans, they are wanted for questioning by the force, as they're believed to be a part of the blighted gang."

Shine's eye widened upon reading that last sentence.

"Bless the white god's tail!"

Shine ignored Bauble's cries of protest as he stuffed the newspaper in his mouth and made a beeline for the library's exit. He dashed off to the coastline where Tony's workplace was. He didn't care how fast he went or whether or not he accidentally bumped into things on his way. He didn't even slow down when he reached the cliff-side and almost fell off the edge, kicking a few pebbles off the cliff face in the process. Despite nearly tumbling over, he staggered back to his feet and carried on his route.

Eventually, Shine reached the coast where the main attraction of Ambrette sat, rushed past the aquarium over to the neighbouring Marine Conservation Centre, and charged through the entrance into the reception. He remembered where Tony's office was, which was to his right, and without thinking, ran towards the door.

"Hey hey hey!" an old man called. "What do you think you're doing here?!"

Shine spat the newspaper out. _"Sorry, my trainer's in there, I have to speak to him!"_

Shine balanced himself on his hindpaws to pull the handle down, but when he did, the door wouldn't open. It was locked. Shine glanced at the old man who was practically white with confusion, mumbling to the other person at the desk who Shine knew as Ines, the head of communications. No interaction with her ended in a friendly conversation, but regardless, Shine thought it best to explain his situation to someone familiar with Tony. He padded over to the desk, balancing on his tip-toes and making eye-contact with Ines, who shot him a glare that could've frozen the air around them.

"Shine, I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

 _"Please, miss Ines, let me explain myself, I need to-"_

"Everyone in there, including Tony, is busy taking care of something important, and we're trying to bluff our way out of a PR disaster. They can't have anybody else coming in no matter what for the whole day."

 _"But-"_

She retrieved a Pokeball from her belt and held it towards Shine.

"I said you can't come in no matter what. If you don't leave, you'll have to answer to Tundremie."

Even for Ines, this was rather cold. Each time Shine wanted to visit Tony on-break, she often refused to let him in unless either of them gave notice, but there, she turned him down instantly. Her treatment always seemed unfair to him, and she seemed to have a bias against Pokemon in general. Still, he understood that Tony had to deal with delicate situations if a rescued Pokemon ever went into surgery, and besides, dealing with her Vanilluxe was another issue entirely. Despite the burning sensation in his paws, he took a deep breath and relaxed his stance.

 _"Can you at least pass a message to him, please?"_

She lowered her Pokeball but didn't change her glacial expression otherwise.

"Make it quick."

Shine rushed over to where he dropped the newspaper and picked it back up, propping it onto Ines' desk.

 _"Tell him to read page twelve."_

"I'll see if I have time to, now please, we've got calls to make here." Her expression softened, letting her guard down for just a moment. "Sorry, it's just the way things are at the moment." Then her stiff expression returned as the phone rang.

He nodded and walked out of the centre with pent-up energy surging through him. The shore was only down a set of stone stairs, where the sand dunes stretched for miles, which he crept down to avoid slipping. When the beach came in sight, Shine stopped, digging his paws firmly in the sand.

Curio. That named echoed in his head, as well as the fragments of memories scattered across all his synapses. His heart pumped blood at the thought of her, and his whole body felt warm. He hadn't felt like that in ages, not even with Tony.

But why? When Shine tried to put all the information together from his past, nothing came up. He didn't know how he formed a bond with her, or why, and how they developed throughout the years, but he just knew, like there was some sort of invisible bridge. Yet that wasn't enough. The warmth wouldn't have been any sort of comfort to him if he didn't know where it came from. In fact, it started burning. No, not there, not while his emotions were still this fresh. His whole body felt dizzy, and his paws gave way as he wobbled to the hot floor. He couldn't focus on his surroundings or his physical self at all: just his vague memories and his gut feeling.

There had to be something to latch onto for now. But where? Was it a moment they shared? Were they words of comfort they spoke to one another? Why couldn't he remember? Why couldn't he do anything? Right, he couldn't do anything. He was just a broken Pokemon curled around his trainer's leg. He might as well have been a weak Shinx again.

 **"Don't say that, you doof! You're not weak, you're doin' fine, ya know?"**

There it was: something she said. Same sort of connection, same tone of voice, same manner of speaking. That was one memory about her he regained, at least. And like the tide washing in and out, that moment came and went. The salty seawater lapped gently at the shoreline. A squadron of Mantine cried in the distance. With all the activity happening around him, Shine was back there on Ambrette's shore, in control of his senses again. His current frustrations all rushed back to him, and he needed to take it out on something. So, he ran across the shore, kicking sand everywhere he went.

After five years of waiting and not knowing anyone's whereabouts, there was something to chase after at last. Yet what was that Sinnohan Pokemon doing in Dendemille, or getting involved with dangerous Pokemon for that matter? Was she docile or was she a threat? And even more importantly, why had the two split apart if they were so close? Trying to get any of those answers meant Shine would have to cross half the region to get to that town, which was easier said than done.

He could've ran all the way through the wild, leaving him to face the ferals all on his own, and Curio might not've been there by the time he arrived, if he lived through that. Going by train would save a lot of time, but it would've been much faster to rent a flying Pokemon. Not even the fastest trains in the world held a candle to a Dragonite; if he could find a ranch that owned one, it would've taken an hour to get to Dendemille. The only issue was cost.

Pokemon could hop on buses and trains for free as long as it wasn't during peak hours and fitted the size and weight limit, but transport by flying Pokemon was a different matter entirely. The handlers were the ones in charge, and their services to pilot the Pokemon required payment just like any other human selling goods. The faster the Pokemon, the more their fliers were likely to charge. He wasn't sure how much it was for a Dragonite exactly, but probably a lot. He thought about putting his plan into fruition, but when he took the time to consider it, he stopped in his tracks.

Doing all of that meant he would have to venture on his own accord, without Tony's help or anyone else in Ambrette that knew him. Having stayed with his trainer for so long in the comfort of his abode, he was at a loss for himself, and since he was so busy at that moment, he couldn't run his plans through him first. And so, Shine slowly padded back to the apartment, tail dragging on the ground beneath him, and even as he input the passcode with his nose to unlock the door, his mind was still in a muddle.

His stomach rumbled as it approached noon. It would probably be good to grab some lunch, and as he headed towards the kitchen, the window above the sink tapped. Bauble came flying in through the open slit, which she often did whenever they didn't meet straight at the library.

"Wanna tell me why you dashed off like that?" she cawed, her beak pointed downwards.

"Oh, sorry," Shine said. "Something came up, so I want to head to Dendemille later."

"What?" she said blankly. "How in the world are you gonna get there?"

"I don't know yet. At the moment, I'm not even sure if it's worth it yet, unless the trip is quick."

"And what're you thinkin'?"

"Well, this might be a long shot, but do you know if there's a ranch nearby that takes care of Dragonite?"

"Hmm," Bauble said, turning her head away. "There might be. But. But-but-but." She looked at Shine with a cunning smile. "What would you give me in return if I did know there was one? Perhaps, your collar?"

"Excuse me?" Shine sputtered. "What is your obsession with my collar?"

"Oh nothing, it just looks so nice! Besides, I think I deserve something for being left behind."

"My collar is-" He paused. Bauble had asked for his collar since she met him, which got tiring. Tony had given it to him as a present when he got his trainer license, which was why he'd been reluctant for her to snatch it off him. If he gave it up, that would mean betraying him. Then it dawned on him that was the reason he had been so reluctant to travel in the first place: his trainer. He needed to make decisions of his own, and Tony encouraged that, so how did a collar impact their relationship at all? Since time was of the essence at that point, Shine steeled his resolve. It was time to tear off the band-aid. He hesitated before he lifted his neck up for the intruding Murkrow.

"Fine. Come and get it, then."

Bauble flew to the back of Shine's neck to unclasp his collar and ran her beak through his fur, which tickled a little, but within seconds, the collar released and Bauble held what was Tony's memento in her mouth. Seeing how pleased Bauble was with her prize, Shine's stomach tied itself into a knot in guilt. Nevertheless, his goal was more important than keeping himself leashed to some sort of tradition.

"Are there Dragonite, Bauble?"

"Why yeth, there are," she said, slightly muffled by what she was holding. "You haff money for that, yeth?"

"I'll sort that out in a minute. If you don't mind, can you wait outside for me while I get the cash?"

"Cointh?" Shine anticipated she would ask about that, as if she imagined there was a vault in the flat that had a pool of solid gold she could gawk at.

"Bills."

"Aw."

As soon as Bauble hopped out of the door with the collar, Shine's eye flickered gold, which turned on his special vision to find the safe in Tony's bedroom closet.

Tony was the one that taught Shine how to use money in the real world. While his days in the facility gave him the knowledge of basic arithmetic earlier on, currency was alien to him in such a closed-off environment. Not long after the two officially partnered up, Tony shared the code to his safe, as he trusted Shine to only use it for emergencies. He hadn't needed to use it in the two years he stayed in Tony's flat. This, however, was an emergency. A largely personal emergency, but an emergency nonetheless.

After fiddling around with the savings, Shine made his way to the door with a stash of 20000 Pokedollars stuffed inside a drawstring bag hanging by his maw. With everything almost ready, something still nagged at him, as he realised how much it would worry Tony to travel for a few days unannounced, so he backtracked to his bedroom and got out a pen and a pad. Gripping the pen with his mouth, Shine wrote as best as he could on the lined paper.

'LookING For A LUcArIo. WILL bE bAck IN A FEW DAYs - ShINE.'

With that settled, Shine picked the money-bag back up and left the flat.

Bauble had waited on the railing, absent-mindedly staring out into the noon sky. When she saw Shine, she took the drawstring bag in her claws and wrapped it around Shine's neck, which he supposed was an adequate enough replacement for the collar. His accompanying Murkrow glided over to the road at the other end of the block, leaving Shine to follow her, and when they got close enough, she flew off again, gliding into the distance up the main street. Although it took some time for each other to find their rhythm, once the two knew each other's patterns of movement, Bauble no longer had to wait for Shine to catch up as he ran after her. They went further up the road, reached the outskirts of Ambrette towards the more mountainous areas of land where the ground got more bumpy, and to a path that sat outside of the forest of Route 9.

Travelling through the dappled path, with the open space in front of him and the quiet rustling of the leaves overhead gave Shine time to reflect. He was really doing this. He was getting out there. And unlike before, his thoughts didn't stop him halfway through as he planned out his journey. If he had gone insane at that point, he didn't mind, and at least with Bauble, that made two crazy Pokemon.

They continued their trek in silence, and when the two arrived, Shine saw the most dragons he had ever seen in one area. When he first heard of the ranches, he didn't know what to expect with how it was organised; however, what he saw was separated by a fence was an open field, as the dragon types and dragon-looking Pokemon freely flew around the area and ran through the shallow grass. There were Dragonite, Salamence, Goodra amongst many others, and even a few pseudo dragons like Charizard. As well as that, their young accompanied them in their previous evolutions. While most species kept within their own circles, there were a few that freely mingled with others scattered across.

Plenty of humans operated the field as well. Some tended to their own Pokemon by feeding them, playing with them or resting by them, and others worked in the farmland area separate from the Pokemon area. There was so much happening at once there, Shine didn't know where to start. It made him feel dizzy looking at it, trying to keep a track of all the activity there and turning his head back and forth to where his blindside couldn't see.

It was kind of similar to how the facility functioned during its golden age, except outdoors and less densely packed. He supposed some things never changed.

He remembered what he came there for however, and padded over to the closest barn on the path, with Bauble hopping alongside him on the fence. When he reached the entrance, Shine was greeted by a woman dressed head to toe in flight gear, who drew her hand close to her belt, seemingly cautious of the two that approached her.

"If you've come here to steal our crops, beat it," she said.

Shine gulped as he mustered up the confidence to speak.

 _"Um, I need a ride to Dendemille Town as quickly as possible, please."_ To complete the request, he bowed politely to her. The woman took off her visor, not taken completely off guard but still revealing her surprise as she arched an eyebrow.

"Well I'll be. Did that Murkrow bring you here?"

Shine nodded, and the woman gave him a pointed look.

"Well I must apologise. I don't know what she told you, but we don't make no exceptions for Pokemon. Even you have to pay."

 _"No problem. I'm looking to rent a Dragonite."_

Upon hearing this, the lady chortled, holding her fist in front of her hand to stifle herself.

"A Dragonite? Good one! Where in Arceus' crack did you find the money for that?"

 _"It's hanging by my neck."_

The woman laughed again, slapping her knee.

"Naw, naw, I apologise, I believe ya. Forgive me for bein' so rude." She took a deep breath and presented her gloved hand to him. "Name's Adele. Pleasure to do business with ya. What's yours?"

 _"Shine."_

"Cool! If you'll follow me to the field, I'll walk you through what we have."

Adele jumped over the fence. Before Shine could follow, Bauble's beak tugged at his fur.

"Yeah, I'm kind of banned here, so I'm leaving this dump. I hope whatever you're doing in Dendemille works out and stuff."

Shine partly wondered what she did to earn such ire from the rancher, but he smiled anyway and bowed to his sticky-beaked helper.

"Thanks. Enjoy your collar."

"Will do!" Bauble gave an appreciative chirp and swooped up in the air, disappearing past the trees.

Shine crawled under the fence and caught up with Adele as they weaved through the field. Already, he sensed the attention he was getting from a group of Charmander nearby, who all stared at him and talked amongst themselves from a distance. As he couldn't hear them, he brushed it aside.

"If you don't mind me asking," Adele said, "Where'd you learn to speak so well?"

 _"Through a caring enough trainer and lots of practice,"_ Shine said, which was half true.

"You don't say. All things considered, you speak much better than half of my workers on the farm!"

 _"I wouldn't say that."_

"Don't humble yourself. Actually, we've tried our hand at teaching our Pokemon here to speak, and it ain't easy, let me tell you. We've had problems finding other Pokemon that speak like us in this armpit of Ambrette, so we do it ourselves, and some of them can carry conversations, but they've still got a helluva way to go. Others though, they have no focus for it whatsoever. I can't even get one peep out of them before they fly off!"

Shine couldn't help but laugh, thinking back to how he struggled getting the first word out as a hatchling.

 _"It's much harder for us to get right at first. If it's not in their nature, leave them be."_

"I don't know, we've been surprised before. Still, a Pokemon such as yourself is somewhat of a rarity around these parts. It's hard to—"

A glob of green slime splashed over her glasses from her left side, which came from a Goodra who waved at Adele with a slimy paw. She chortled as she wiped off the gunk off.

 _"Hell-o A-dell!"_ the Goodra yelled, pronouncing carefully in the human tongue.

"Good to see you too, Petri!" She waved at the Goodra with glee, even as her glove was coated with the substance. "How's the lessons coming along?"

 _"Slow and a-nnoy-ing. But not bad."_

 _"It'll get better,"_ Shine chimed in, bringing Petri's attention to him. _"I found it hard to string together words as well."_

Petri gasped, clutching his chest with his paw. _"A new tea-cher?"_

"Nope," Adele said, "Just a visitor of ours."

 _"O-K."_ Petri gave a disappointed smile.

"Sorry, we gotta go Petri. I'll come back in a bit. See you then!"

Adele gave a thumbs up to Petri, which he returned by waving in their direction. Shine nodded before catching up with Adele, who was still covered in slime.

 _"Does that come off easily?"_ Shine said.

"Depends. You hardly notice it after a while."

Perhaps it was easier for humans to get slime off their clothes, but he winced at the thought of getting it stuck in his fur.

The two reached the part of the field where the Dragonite congregated, a group of five who were all huddled around each other.

"Attention!" she shouted, and the Dragonite all turned to face her. She counted them all with her finger, then pointed to a blank space. "Lyra." The Dragonite on the far left took a step forward. "Would you be so kind as to fetch Accendare, please?"

They nodded. Shine couldn't even see them flap their wings before he had to shield himself from the gust of wind, and when he opened his eye, Lyra was nowhere to be seen in the sky. After a moment, he saw the two approaching from the air and flinched upon their landing as the ground rumbled, getting a round of laughter from the Dragonite already on land. Once he recovered, he eyed Accendare, whose ribs stuck out slightly and seemed smaller compared to the rest, with the addition of a Postmon's pager around their ankle. They looked off into the distance with their arms crossed.

"Good! Now-" Adele turned to Shine, "What's your poison?"

The Dragonite gossiped on their own.

"What's a Luxray doing here?"

"That guy must be loaded!"

"He can't be serious."

 _"Who's the fastest?"_ Shine asked, mostly for curiosity's sake.

"Well, that'd be Bally!" She pointed to the Dragonite in the middle, who was the tallest of the bunch. "Easy to handle, and can reach the peak of Snowbelle City in just an hour."

Bally gave Shine a smug smile. So he could've gotten to Dendemille in half an hour.

 _"How much?"_

"Ninety thousand!"

Shine had anticipated the steep price tag just to see how far up he could go.

 _"And who's the cheapest?"_

"Figure you'd say that next." She pointed to Accendare. "You know this lil' stowaway's name. I don't know how urgent your situation is, but she'll do a good enough job for you if your only destination is Dendemille. She can get there in roughly an hour and a quarter if you don't mind the bumpy ride."

It wasn't exactly within the hour, but it was close enough and much better than he expected for the cheapest. Dragonite truly were first rate.

 _"How much?"_

"Thirty thousand!"

"Oh," he whispered. Somewhere, he had miscalculated how much he needed. Speed, handle-ability and rarity were his first standards of measurement, but there must have been something forgotten in the rush.

 _"I see. I'm ten thousand short, unfortunately."_

There was a collective sigh from the group of Dragonite.

"I might as well mention this is a very generous price around these parts. You might get cheaper further east, but in the boonies, that's a bargain."

That was it. He forgot to take availability into factor as well. Adele grunted as she retrieved Shine's pouch from her pocket and knelt down to Shine. Only then did he realise how foolish he must have looked.

 _"Sorry for wasting your time,"_ Shine said.

"Nonsense!" She smiled. "I completely understand. We haven't had a customer like you come to our ranch before, so you've made it worth my while!"

 _"I see. Well, thank you."_

He bowed once more before turning back to the path. That was it. He'd have to return home to Tony, to his peaceful neighbourhood, to his mediocre life since leaving the facility with his questions unanswered. The train was still a possibility to travel through, but by taking the longer route, he risked losing his only other lead to fully understanding his past or his connection to that Lucario. As he pondered this, he saw Petri, the Goodra from earlier, playing with a bunch of Goomy in the distance. Thinking back to the conversation he had with Adele about finding teachers for the Pokemon on the ranch, he couldn't help but smile at what he had in mind. Once more, Shine turned to Adele who was checking on Accendare.

"Adele!" he shouted.

Adele faced him again with a confused look.

 _"I'll pay the twenty thousand for Accendare, and work for as long as it takes to teach Petri to speak properly!"_

A glint appeared in Adele's eyes and she clapped her hands together.

"Now we're talking business! As long as you're fine with it being unpaid work, we're square!"

 _"I don't mind."_

"Good!" Adele gently undid the pouch from Shine's neck and opened it, counting its contents, 20000 Poke dollars in ten bills, before pocketing it in her jacket. "We need to make sure you'll come back to us to start your first lesson, so me and Accendare will be there to pick you up in two days at the most."

 _"Two days?"_ he asked. Even he wasn't sure he would be able to get Curio back in that time.

"Yup. We can't make the returning time too open, otherwise it'll be like you're getting a trip for free. Is that fine with you?"

Shine looked to his side. Again, he wasn't certain Curio would still be there, but he had nothing to lose except his trainer's money.

 _"Yes, but I might need to bring a friend of mine back here."_

"Same size as you?"

 _"She's a Lucario."_

"Fine. The spikes might be a problem, but it's doable. In that case, we'll be there at 2PM on Wednesday, so don't forget that. Oh, one more thing." Adele approached Shine and knelt down to his level, uncomfortably close to his face with a serious expression. "We kinda have a serious policy on customers paying us back. If you try to slip out of it or aren't there in time two days from now, well, your ass is grass."

 _"I can assure you I'll be there."_

Adele backed away from him, smiling again.

"Good! Ahem." She pulled out a walkie talkie and spoke into it. "You two! Accendare's gear please, on the double!"

A moment later, two young assistants, a scruffy boy and a ribboned girl, lugged the gear in front of Adele, and she commanded them to tend to Accendare, who held up her paws in the air for them to equip her. The scruffy looking boy tried to wrap the harness around Accendare's arms, who knelt down with all four paws on the ground, and took one step to the side in an effort to pull the strap back. He missed though and ended up slipping off of her, catching Accendare's arm with the loose strap which made her shriek.

"Damn it, I told you to be careful!" Adele said, stomping over to let the boy down. "The last thing I need you to do is to hurt Accy!

"Sorry, miss," he said, looking up at her with guilty eyes.

"Never mind, I'll handle this from here on out. Clearly, you need more training. Girl, you've done a good job, so that's it for now. Go take him back and make him run a lap across the field."

The ribboned apprentice nodded and left with the glum looking boy. Adele leaned in to stroke Accendare's head.

"It'll get more comfy with time, sweetie. That clod really doesn't make it easy for you, does he?"

Accendare shook her head in reply.

"There there." She turned to Shine. "Shall we?"

From there, Accendare went on all fours, presenting the saddle on her back. Adele offered a hand to Shine, gesturing to pick him up, and he sat in her arm as she climbed up Accendare to the front. She placed him in one of the empty backseats of the saddle which were mostly fit for humans but not Pokemon that weren't bipedal. Nevertheless, he gripped the belt in front of him with ease, but a chill washed over him when he realised he was on the back of a dragon that could cycle the globe in less than a day.

"Accendare, any tips for first timers?"

"Um, hold on for dear life?" she said. He couldn't see her face, but he imagined she looked quite nervous herself. "Oh, and um, thanks for picking me by the way. Not many people do that."

"You're welcome."

With that, the Dragonite leaned forward and started flapping her wings, sending a wave of movement through the seat, where Shine lightly bobbed up and down. Adele gently raised the bridle, and Accendare's wings beat, progressively getting more rapid. Eventually, the ground below Shine felt weightless. Accendare was in the air.

The rest of the dragons cleared the way, each flying to opposite ends of the field; the young were either picked up on the way or were left to rush to their parents as quickly as possible. Then Adele whipped the bridle.

Accendare burst forward, and the gust of wind slapped Shine across the face. The ranch was behind him in an instant, and next, the trees all became a blur of green, and a blur of brown as they passed the cliffs. All the while, Shine had no time to process the level of speed he was riding at. Already, the spike in speed left him feeling dizzy, and the wind dared to knock him down, but he held on tight. He would brace himself for whatever came. For his sake. For his trainer's sake. For Curio.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Hello dear readers, and I hope you've enjoyed the first chapter! If you did, I hope you stick with it, but if there's stuff you want to critique, by all means, go ahead. Any feedback you give will be useful.

As explained before, chapters 1-17 will have newly revised content, which features additional scenes as well as expanded dialogue and clearer characterisation. I've been working on this for nearly 6 months now, also while I was in the middle of writing new chapters up to the end of TCATS Part 1, which goes up to chapter 38.

The reason for this is that while old readers have enjoyed the 2nd version of TCATS, there were a few problems that got in the way of enjoyment for others, since there were inconsistencies between revisions that led to characterisation and story issues. So the focus of the 3rd version (the iteration of which will also be reflected in the title) has mostly been rectifying issues in the first arc along with general polish all throughout.

I have only revised up to chapter 17 for the moment, since that's where one arc ends and a new arc begins after with chapter 18. That's the point where the ripple effects in the story would be resolved, so for those jumping in between the two, it should flow together well. The reason for this is that I'll be taking a break from this longfic to focus on more original work, so I don't want to be stuck doing constant revisions during that period.

That being said, and I should emphasise this, feedback will be taken into account for the third arc as well, so once I return and have enough information, I can properly revise chapters 18-38 with confidence.

Thanks for sticking with this post-amble, if that's even a word. From this point forward, after the end of each chapter, I will be providing patchnotes for the fic at the end. Speaking of which...

* * *

 **Chapter 1 Patchnotes (11/02/20):**

Mostly general polish with a few expanded lines of dialogue and description.

Ines' Pokemon has been changed from an Aurorus to a Vanilluxe. This is because neither of them have been properly introduced yet and Aurorus being a fossil Pokemon also poses a question about the worldbuilding that shouldn't be there.


	2. Dendemille's Pests

The first thing Shine did when Accendare landed was topple to the ground and throw up. His head swam, his face felt like it was melting, and his body generally felt unpleasant. At that time, he didn't want to think about Tony back home, about Curio, or anything else. He locked himself up in his little bubble, only burst by the presence of Accendare and Adele beside him.

"Oh dear," Accendare exclaimed. "Are you alright there? I wasn't that bad, was I?"

Shine couldn't muster any sort of reply.

"Man, the trip really took the wind out of your sails, huh?" Adele said. "Hold on, I might be able to help you."

Shine ingested some sort of tangy liquid. After a moment, coherent thoughts formed again, and in time, the haze over his body cleared up. He looked to Adele with a weary expression.

" _Thank you,"_ he said.

"Don't mention it. First timers usually get sick, although most first timers don't usually opt for a Dragonite. Can you stand?"

He slowly got to his feet and tried to stretch, but after such a long ride, his legs were too tired for him to keep a proper balance, so he toppled to the floor.

" _Well, this is embarrassing."_

"Oh tosh, with that sort of speed, it's no wonder you're tuckered out! Don't worry, it'll pass if you get a lil' rest."

" _I'll be fine from here on out then."_ He forced a smile.

"In that case, take care, and don't forget our agreement now!"

" _I promise I won't."_

"Hold on, um, Mister Shine," Accendare chimed in. "Can I join in with Petri's lesson as well?"

"I don't see why not."

"Thanks," she said with a wan smile before flapping her wings again. Adele waved him goodbye and with one flick of her wrist, Accendare took off to the skies.

When Shine eventually came to, he recognised he stood in a park with a big wooden gazebo at the very edge. The few people strolling through were already staring at him, undoubtedly weirded out by the air-delivered Luxray. He tried to ignore them and looked further into the distance. Past a surrounding cluster of trees, there were cottages and wooden houses that snaked up a series of hills, topped with a windmill whose blades whirled in the air.

Once he regained his strength, he paced around idly, trying to reorient himself and to figure out where he could ask around. Suddenly, it hit him that he was on his own in a different town far away from his own. Once a sense of uneasiness settled in his stomach, which might've just been the nausea, he realised he would need all the help he could get. His first thought was to find the town square, and so, slowly but surely, Shine padded over to the park's exit and continued down the main road.

In Shine's journey through the paths of Dendemille, he walked out the stiffness in his joints. As he strolled through the picturesque landscapes of the area, leaves fell from above, with a mixture of white, pink, and red flower petals flitting down. The flora was much more vivid here than it was in Ambrette, which gave a different flavour to that environment than the coastal town. Experiencing this first hand calmed his nerves from the ride. At least, until he had to interrogate the strangers in town.

Eventually, he found the main square and upon entering the plaza, the presence seemed different from what he was used to back home. The area was less densely populated, for starters. While there was always activity from the coastal Pokemon flying in and the amount of tourists the town gathered during summertime, Dendemille more or less beat to the tune of its own drum. Many older trainers drifted in and out of the town's hub, dressed in plain-clothes or overalls, with their farming Pokemon almost as tall as them by their side. There were only a handful of younger trainers, presumably in transit to the next city for their gym battles or whatever else they got up to.

A dozen of market stalls stood in the centre. Most of them were run by trainers with different assortments of training paraphernalia and farmers with their crops or fresh meat. Nothing remarkable. The only figure that stood out to Shine was an old trader who sat under a tent surrounded by makeshift bookshelves. He was the first person Shine could think of to ask about Curio's whereabouts. Perhaps by intuition, as someone he expected was well read probably had the most information about local affairs.

He started to walk towards the tent, then stopped, hit by an invisible wall. He didn't quite know how to approach the stranger. In his hometown, it seemed much easier, but in an unfamiliar environment, Shine didn't know how the trader would react to a random Pokemon going up to greet him. Yet he had to get some sort of bearing, at least. He could do this. So, Shine took a deep breath and padded over to the tent, glancing at the shelves as if he was just a regular human customer. Yes, just a regular customer walking on all fours and surging with electrical energy. Totally normal. He poked his nose into the trader's inventory where old paper wafted in the air, which filled him with a sense of nostalgia. Although he didn't remember much of GeL in specifics, he did recall all the second-hand books he used to read there, usually tattered and worn, but still having a lot of value. He remembered sitting in that room full of plush cushions, getting lost in that world of-

"'ey!" the trader yelled, making Shine jump. "What're yer doin'?!"

He stepped back, bewildered by the startled human's glare. " _I-I, um, I'm sorry sir! I wasn't doing anything!"_

To his mercy, the trader leaned back and gave a wan smile.

"Heh, what a pleas'n s'prise. Sorry, d'int mean to scare ya."

Shine sighed in relief and straightened his back, composing himself.

" _No, that's fine. I take it I'm quite an unusual sight here, speaking your language."_

"Nay, we get a few speakers 'round these parts. Just Luxrays aren't that 'eard of in this region, an' I try to keep out for strays, is all."

Shine bit back the urge to correct him on his pluralization of Luxray and continued. " _I see. Sorry, I'm a bit new to this town."_

"Ach, that's fine. Trainers come in an' out all the time, so I get my share of tourists 'round 'ere. How can I 'elp?"

" _Um, this might sound weird, but have you seen a Lucario with a metal arm around here recently?"_

"You mean Curio?" the trader asked, scratching his balding head. "'aven't seen her myself, but I've 'eard plenty about 'er. She's a right old troublemaker, 'pparently." He leafed through his own copy of The Regional Roundup. "She went at those Claws, she did."

" _Yes, I read that, but the police think she might have something to do with them. You don't think she's a part of some criminal gang, do you?"_

"Well I don't know. Just what I've 'eard. She's stirred up plenty of trouble before, so I wouldn't put it past 'er."

That neither confirmed nor denied Shine's fears.

" _Um, what else has she done in this town to cause such a fuss?"_

"Broke into that vineyard, for star'ers." He pointed at the windmill in the distance. "That thing's protected by a gate, you see, and from what I 'eard, she climbed o'er it and smashed a lot o' crops on the way, then bam, wen' out again."

Shine strained to get past his accent, but he got the gist of it. It wasn't what he hoped to hear at all. The trader must've seen the worry on his face as he gave him a reassuring smile.

"On the other 'and, she is quite popular with the locals, from what I 'ear. Some folks at the pub talk about 'er all the time, with all the interestin' stories she tells. Some says she took down a Garchomp single-'andedly, or pawdedly. Others says she jumped off of Jubilife Tower and lived, though I reckon that's a bunch o' crap. Either way, not every town gets a talkin' Lucario with a metal arm like 'er, for better or for worse I reckon."

Shine's mouth went agape as it was a lot to take in at once. It was even harder to fill the gaps in his past with that information. Still, he had to focus on the task at hand, or paw.

" _Do you know where I can find Curio, then?"_

"You can check the windmill, but 'side from that, I can't be of much more 'elp, I'm afraid. Sorry."

" _No, um, you've given me plenty to work with, sir. Thank you."_

"And you. 'Bout time I got someone who's polite in my lot, not like these old farts here." He flashed a self-satisfied grin. With that, Shine bowed to him before retreating to one corner of the plaza, collapsing on the cold cobblestone floor. His heart shouldn't have been beating that much, but that initial jolt gave him a bit of a jump. No matter. It steadied once Shine contemplated the information the trader gave him, soaking up the atmosphere of the market square as faraway conversation passed.

There was still a lot he didn't remember about Curio. He hadn't come across her once in Sinnoh since their escape despite his constant searching. Five years was a long time to change, especially when one had to adapt to an alien environment like Shine did before he met Tony. She could've been anywhere.

A sense of dread lingered over him like a thundercloud. When he eventually met her, if he eventually met her, would she even want to see him after all this time? His own memories of her were vague at best, so would she even recognise him?

He shook himself out of his bubble and got to his feet, looking to the mill in the distance. Perhaps that would've given him a clue on her whereabouts.

And so, he started the long trek up the series of hills where the cottages sat, thatched roofs and all. On closer inspection, Shine noticed some of those houses had farm lots in their front gardens which were tended to by Pokemon and their trainers. As he passed by, they stopped their work to stare at him, which struck him as odd at first. He didn't stop, but the further he advanced, the more he noticed what the Pokemon and trainers did when they spotted him.

A few Pokemon in the front gardens of the cottages stood with their backs straightened, their teeth clenched, their eyes tracking, everything to indicate they were cautious of Shine's presence. Their trainers caught wind of this too, either standing by their guarding Pokemon or summoning others outside their balls, ready to command them to fight. Wary of his own aura, he took a deep breath and advanced further up the path ahead, quickening his pace.

Once he reached the top, Shine stopped to marvel at the sheer size of the mill for the first time with his own eye. What he viewed from far away at first didn't give much of an indication of the foundation of the windmill itself, but when he faced it from the edge of the hill, he had to tilt his head upward to see the top of it. The blades gently rotated in the wind and the air whooshed with every revolution.

When he let his head down, he narrowed his eye at the series of tall metal fences surrounding the grounds of the mill, kept under lock and key by a gate. The trader mentioned Curio 'trespassed', not simply walked in as if it was a park, and for good reason too. There were plants with Razz Berries, Bluk Berries and many other berries he couldn't recall at the top of his head, while he sniffed the air and tasted the sickly-sweet scent of honey. Any self-respecting owner wouldn't have let a wild Pokemon take from their wares, after all.

Shine's eye flashed gold and the surroundings turned transparent, allowing him a full view of everything going on at the mill. Several humans were inside the buildings, nowhere near close to where he could talk to them, but the person working closest to the gate was a boy in his teens. There was also a female Leafeon patrolling the perimeter of the fence from the inside, but Shine preferred to get the boy's attention first to avoid being chased by the guarding Pokemon.

He softly padded along the edge of the fence with his see-through vision still active, getting closer to his lead until he saw him through the grating. Shine opened his mouth to shout, then-

"Hey boy!" a coarse voice called from far away. "Get over here!"

"Y-yes, Sir!" he stammered, and left his berry basket unattended as he rushed to the mill.

Shine cursed himself. His potential source of information had disappeared. If he found somewhere to hide, he would've been able to try again, but he considered the chance that the Leafeon would catch him while he looked.

He turned around and carefully retraced his steps to the path leading to the gate, when something tugged at his paw. He winced as he tried to shake it off, but the more he struggled to get it free, the tighter it wrapped around his ankle, like some sort of rope trap. He took a deep breath and calmed himself. It wouldn't have done any good to panic, just like Tony said.

"Who are you?" Leafeon called as she stood in front of him. "Are you an enemy?"

"What, no, I-"

"Don't talk! You seem weird! Wait there!"

A trail of grass knots snaked under Shine's body and tied themselves around each of his limbs, anchoring him to the ground. He squirmed in its grasp, but with each movement, the knots surrounding him pulled taut.

"Wait! Need to check!" The Leafeon buried her nose in Shine's coat, sniffing him down. It felt weird, to say at the least, but Shine knew that sort of gesture from certain kinds of feral Pokemon. If he had to guess, she came from a similar background and got captured to be on the vineyard's guard. After a moment of sniffling and snuffling, the Leafeon stepped back.

"You smell clean, but weird. Do you have a trainer?"

Shine nodded, not wanting to set her off again. Then, one by one, the grass knots unwound themselves from Shine's body, allowing him to stand upright again. He breathed a sigh of relief, and was about to say something when-

"Hey, girl!" the coarse voice called out again. The two turned towards the source and saw the face of a weathered-looking man with gardening gloves behind the fence. "Don't just stand there; when there's a Claw that invades our turf, attack on sight!"

" _S-sir, please!"_ Shine yelped, " _I-I don't mean any trouble, I just wanted to talk to you!"_

The man rubbed his forehead, mumbling to himself as he approached the end of his side of the grate. "Well blow me down, another talkin' Pokemon outside my property."

" _Y-yes, sorry."_ Shine breathed in and out, trying to calm himself down. " _I don't mean to intrude or anything, but there's something I need to know. A Lucario trespassed your vineyard, is that right?"_

"Oh for the love of-" He cracked his knuckles. "I thought I'd hear the end of that lousy Lucario. I guess you know her, then."

" _Well, yes and no."_ He would've blushed if he could. " _It's complicated. She might be very important to me, so any info you have on her would be very helpful."_

The old man snorted. "Might be important? Might? Then what good will it do me to tell you anything?"

He had a point. At this stage, Shine was just going on a whim, albeit, a very powerful one. " _L-look, I just need to know! I can't explain it, but I just have a gut feeling! I know we were close!"_

"Then I don't want any more of it." He gripped the fence, glaring at Shine. "I got enough trouble with you outsider Pokemon, 'specially the human speaking ones. It ain't in the white god's design, you know. Next thing I know, you lot'll be takin' us over. Now get lost."

" _B-but-"_

"Enough! I got a farm to run here, so piss off!" He punctuated this by shaking the grate. "And you, girl, get back in here!"

Leafeon slipped under the fence and joined the caretaker before the two returned to their post, leaving Shine on his lonesome. The Luxray stood still for a moment, not knowing what to do, and trying to parse what the old man told him. He briefly entertained the idea of shouting back at him for that 'takin' us over' remark, but decided agianst it. He stared through the gate once more, and saw the Leafeon staring at him with those wide, orange eyes of hers. Shine thought that would've been the end of it, and turned around to make his way back down. Then another grass knot curled itself around his leg, which he tried to shake off.

"Wait," Leafeon said as she entered Shine's view again. She stared at him curiously, cocking her head. "Lucario seems important to you."

Shine didn't want to mince words any longer and just went with his gut. "W-well, yes."

"Here." A loose strand of grass sprouted up and formed an arrow, pointing towards the fence. "Lucario climbed up there." She pointed down, trailing through the mess of uprooted plants. "Ruined those silvervine plants. Owner got mad and tried to stop Lucario. Lucario said-"

She scurried in front of Shine and stood on her hindlegs, trying her best to imitate the bipedal jackal. "Trying to save your town, you grumpy old fart." She stood back on all fours. "Then left."

Shine couldn't help but laugh. He didn't know whether or not he expected this behaviour from her, but somehow, that struck a nerve.

"Not funny," Leafeon said, leering at him. "It's serious."

"Sorry." Shine hummed and thought back to what she said. So, Curio seemed to be quite rough around the edges, but also meant well, if the 'saving the town' business told him anything. He was still in the dark on her whereabouts, which didn't help much. Still, he had to count his blessings, so he bowed to Leafeon and thanked her.

"Fine," she said. "You need a mate anyway."

Shine sputtered at that. "M-me and h-her? But-"

"Joking. You don't stand on two paws." Leafeon grinned before scurrying back behind the fence. Though the encounter with the old man still shook him up, Leafeon lifted his spirits anyway. Even ferals had a sense of humour, he supposed. And with that, he made his way down the hill again.

As he glanced over to the small landowners, who still looked cautious in his presence, he gained a new found understanding for the town's weird air. It wasn't unheard of to have Pokemon form gangs in the cities, and he experienced it a few times in previous encounters before he met Tony, but they were only limited to a few dozen at the most. In that many numbers, no wonder the townsfolk were so apprehensive around him.

Shine remembered the lack of a jingle by his neck and internally cursed Bauble, however helpful she was. She had to take his collar, of all things.

Once he reached the town centre again, he was a little more at ease as the townsfolk there didn't acknowledge his existence, at least at the beginning. He kept asking around, desperate for any trainer or Pokemon to let slip of Curio's existence. While some trainers didn't know what he was talking about and respectively went on their way, others were more wary of him. Partly because of the unfamiliarity of a Luxray in the region, and partly because of the presence of the Claws.

The trail got colder and the sky looked gloomier with each passing hour. A clock on a town spire told him it was a quarter past 5, 4 hours after he had left Ambrette. All that asking around and he was still no better than how he started. Defeated, Shine sat down on those cold cobblestones, wondering what to do next, and reflected on what had happened before.

So he left Ambrette, looking for someone he didn't know that well, while getting in debt to a Dragonite ranch through the money he stole from his trainer. This was more excitement Shine experienced in a day than he had in the past month or so, but since that initial rush, his enthusiasm for the search had dwindled. He wasn't home. And on queue, his stomach rumbled, and he groaned. Now he was cold and hungry. He missed his apartment. He missed cozying up in that warm blanket. He missed Tony's cooking. And he missed Tony himself. He would've known what to do in this situation, probably, and yet, Shine decided to throw that away along with his collar, all for someone he barely knew anymore. He curled up into a ball and grumbled.

"I'm such an idiot," he said, louder than he probably should've.

"Somethin' bothering you?" a Pokemon called.

In front of Shine was a Gligar with a rubber bracelet around his claw. It read 'Proud to be a Pokespeaker!' Shine's eye widened at that.

"See something you like?" the Gligar said.

"O-oh, sorry." Shine stood up and straightened his back. "I just noticed you're a Pokespeaker."

"Oh, you read this lil' thing?" He shook his claw proudly and smiled, showing his large tongue and fangs. "Glad you noticed! You must be one of us, then!"

Shine smiled at that, bringing a little warmth into his heart. Then, something pelted his head from above. Something wet, which made his static field crackle a little. He looked up, and the sky was dark grey. Oh no, this wasn't good.

"U-um, we should get inside. I-I'm-"

"An electric type, yeah. I know about you Luxray, so don't worry." The Gligar pointed his barb at one of the shop awnings. "Let's head under there."

Shine nodded and dashed under the canopy. His new companion joined not long after, gliding noiselessly through the air. Then it started to rain for real. Not just in droplets, but in a downpour, as the sky crackled with thunder. The humans running the stalls started clearing the tables as they desperately clutched their inventory. For once, Shine was glad to be stuck in the shadows.

"I'm Barley, by the way." He offered his claw.

"Shine." He took Barley's claw in return and shook it.

"So, back to earlier, what's got your Gogoat?"

Shine squeaked. Damnit, so people did notice. He didn't want to admit he was talking to himself, so he had to settle for something a bit less humiliating. "I, um, well, I got a little lost and I was getting stressed out about it, so I don't know." He looked down to his feet, not wanting to face the Gligar. "Maybe I just have a habit of talking to myself, hehe."

"Yeah, I gathered that. So, I take it you're not a stray then?"

"No." He sighed. "I came to this town without my trainer."

"Oh? Well, that's a first." Barley pointed to the activity in the square as everyone turned in to avoid the bad weather. "Not really a lot that goes on in this place unless you're in the league. Not exactly a tourist's resort to be honest. Aside from the cafes."

"I see."

The conversation deteriorated from there as the two stared out from under the roof. Shine was trying to think of something to say next, when his stomach growled again, sounding like a lion's roar.

"Heh, you must be hungry!" The Gligar stood proudly and pointed to himself. "Well, if you'll come with me, I've got plenty for you to eat your fill at the PokeStop I run!"

That got his attention. They were more common in the big cities rather than small towns, and although they operated independently by whoever wanted to open one, even Ambrette didn't have a Pokestop of their own. Shine's curiosity got the better of him that time.

"Thanks, I appreciate it," he said, glancing over to the garbage nearby. "Otherwise, that trash can would've looked rather tempting."

Barley snickered, then jumped up and glided past the different shops, until he perched up on one of the rafters. Hanging by it was a sign that said 'The Vine', accompanied by a red spot indicating that trainers could let their Pokemon rest there. At that point, Shine knew to follow him, and when the Gligar fluttered down, they entered the pub together.

Upon entering, Shine was greeted with the bustle of the rainy evening, as trainers flooded the pub en masse. It was a bit too crowded for comfort. Yet, there was a pleasant aroma that permeated the insides, like Pecha berries and lemongrass. On top of that, the most noticeable characteristic about the pub was its namesake: the vines that covered the ceiling and snaked all over, creating somewhat of an indoor marsh that worked in harmony with the pub's wooden interiors. Barley led the way, and avoiding the booted feet of the humans, Shine weaved his way through the crowd until his guide suddenly stopped.

"Yo, gramps," Barley said. "How'd you like a little trim?"

In front of Shine was a large Venusaur, sitting in his own corner of the room. Indeed, he was past his prime, as his eyes were quite sunken and his leaves were withering, but he visibly beamed at the sight of the Gligar.

"Perhaps later," he said in a very low tone. "I see you have a guest here, so I don't want to intrude. Have fun, you two."

Barley waved a claw at him before leading Shine to the back of the pub, which featured a door with a Pokeball crudely etched onto the wooden frame. With one prod of his claw, Barley opened it, revealing just as lively a scene as the one inhabited by the humans.

There were a few cushions scattered around the floor with various Pokemon lying on them, and a low table set with a Quilladin and a Delphox sat around it playing some sort of chess game. Curiously, the only human there was an adult male trainer lounging on a couch at the end, typing away on a PokePad. The shelves on the end were stacked with books as well as various other knick knacks such as plastic toys and metal figurines. The figurines in particular looked familiar from a distance, but Shine couldn't put his paw on why. In any case, Shine stepped in and followed Barley to the couch, where Barley fistbumped the human. It must've been his trainer, then. He whispered in his ear, and then the trainer sat up, putting the laptop aside.

"Ey yo," the trainer said in a deep voice, offering his hand to Shine. "Good to see another speaker here."

" _W-well,"_ Shine stuttered. Dammit, why was he getting flustered there? He shook it off and took the trainer's hand in any case. " _It's good to be here, I guess."_

"Yeah, I mean, just make yourself at home, y'know. We got snacks over there-" he pointed to a few bowls of Pokemon kibble for different types, "and we got others playin' over here if you wanna join in."

"Just don't interrupt our little game," Delphox said. "We're having quite the match here."

"And it's hard!" Quilladin yelled. "Human games are hard!"

"Still waiting on your turn, sapling."

"I'm thinkin' about it, mmmkay?"

Shine was taken aback by all of this hospitality. " _Um, thanks,"_ he said, " _but I should fill up for now."_

"Suit yourself." The trainer returned to his laptop with Barley by his side, and Shine went on his own to sample some of the feline-fit food there. It was dry and crunchy, but he was used to that faintly meaty taste by now, so it didn't bother him. Drinking from a nearby water bowl also helped take the dry aftertaste off. At the end of that, his stomach was satisfied, and Shine rested by the cushions next to one sleeping Litleo. He stared at her for a moment as she purred and snored. Seeing that little lion body reminded him of when he was a Shinx, for what little there was to glean from his past.

There was something nagging him again, like the episode on the beach before, putting him on the verge of another breakthrough. He tried to piece together the memories he had as a Shinx in GeL. There were the books he'd read on the set of plush cushions, much like the ones he rested on at the moment. Then there was the image of him sulking in the corner of the room. There was another Pokemon with a white body and a poofy tail comforting him. He knew he was his friend, but couldn't piece together who. Then there was something else in an arena of some kind. The floor was covered in a type of artificial turf. There was a group. He was the last one to be picked, yet again. He was alone, yet again. Then there was something else. Something. Someone.

He hit another wall. On the other side, he knew his memories were there, and that the barriers he had were purely mental. He tried to push through it, like pushing through a stone pillar. It still wasn't budging. He pushed harder. He budged it an inch, and-

Something else knocked him hard on his back, and he was a fraidy little Shinx again. A shadow in the form of a Manectric ran towards him and picked him up with his maw. He ran, dragging Shine away from the wall, and further away from opening the door to the truth. He was no longer there. He was back in that PokeStop with the torrential downpour beating against the roof. In that room where he barely knew anybody there, and he was hundreds of miles away from home.

Tears streamed down Shine's face. The kibble bites turned to rocks in his stomach, rattling in his inner passages. Time and time again, his body would act up in some way whenever he got close to reliving those memories. He hated it. He wanted to claw at the walls and scream. None of this was normal for a Pokemon. If he was in the wild, he would've starved to death long ago, with this much mental paralysis. He didn't deserve this Luxray body. He didn't deserve his trainer's love. He didn't-

A set of claws wrapped around his body. Shine gasped, surprised by the sudden sensation, but it snapped him out of his head space, even for a little bit.

"Yo," Barley said, tightening his grip around the Luxray. "You don't look so hot."

"I-I'm sorry," Shine said, sniffling. "I-I didn't mean to make s-s-such a scene."

"Nothing to apologise for, mate." He tapped his back. "Look, if you wanna talk it over, join us on the couch. We ain't therapists or anythin', but we give help when others need it. It's what we do."

He looked around, expecting everyone else to be staring at him, but to his surprise, they continued as normal. They didn't seem perturbed by it. Wearily, he joined the two in the middle of the couch as they made space for him. The trainer was typing away on the forums when Barley coughed, and he closed the screen down.

"Yeah, okay," his trainer said. "So, what's up?"

Shine had to think on it for a moment. He didn't really want to talk about his past, but another question lingered on: that of his trainer. The rocky feeling of his stomach still didn't subside, so he had to get it out there once and for all.

" _W-Well, first, I just need to ask."_ Shine wiped his eye and sighed before he continued. " _If, well, your Pokemon, or Barley, were to run tail and cross half the region for an important reason, without letting you know first, what would you think?"_

"Hmm." The trainer drummed his fingers on the screen surface. "I think I'd be fine with that, wouldn't I?"

" _Yup!"_ Barley said with a smile. " _I can take care of myself!"_

" _Oh, okay."_ He wasn't expecting that. Then, another question popped up. " _Then, what is it you do?"_

" _Well, a lot of things."_ Barley fluttered to one of the tables and stood proudly, tapping one half of his claw. " _For one thing, I spread the word about this place while my trainer sorts through donations."_ He tapped the other claw-half. " _For another, I teach the human tongue to those who want it, or hire those that need something from me._ " He frowned. " _Some humans kinda find that weird, but eh, screw 'em. And on top of that, I take care of some of the boring stuff. Taxes, you know._ " He blew a Razz berry.

"Yeah, but I'm the one that takes care of the accounting." His trainer grinned.

" _And I help with that too, y'know!_ " He cleared his throat. " _But yeah. Why'd you ask?"_

Shine clenched his teeth. Truth be told, he was jealous of Barley's situation. Although the two were cut from the same cloth, Barley was the kind of Mon Shine wasn't. Confident. Outgoing. Proactive. He knew better than to admit this out loud, so he gulped down his emotions and settled for a simpler answer.

" _Just curious. Your trainer gives you a lot of freedom. He's good."_

"Well, thanks." The trainer's tone had an air of concern, to which, Shine grimaced. "Look, I don't wanna pry or anything, but, uh-" he clicked his fingers, "how do I put it? Barley, you're better at this pep talk stuff than I am."

" _Okay then."_ Barley gestured to Shine, gliding over to a corner of the room, and Shine followed. The Gligar pointed his barb at him. "So, Pokemon to Pokemon, is your trainer bein' an _ass?"_

The use of that human swear took Shine off guard. There was no alternative in the Pokemon tongue for that sort of thing, so it always stuck out like a sore thumb whenever another speaker did so. Still, the instant he heard that, he rapidly shook his head.

"N-no," he said, "he's great. He takes care of me, he encourages me to go out, and, well, without him, I wouldn't be alive right now."

Barley nodded, but kept his barb raised. "Buuuuuuut?"

Shine sighed. "But, I feel like I kind of threw that away. I left without telling him what my plans were, and…" He trailed off, not wanting to admit it, but swallowed his pride. "Stole his money to get here." Saying that out loud solidified his actions, and he turned away from Barley. Finally, he added: "I just feel like I've betrayed his trust, as his Pokemon. We're not meant to act out like that, are we?"

Shine didn't know what he expected, but he was surprised when Barley wrapped his claw around him.

"Well, it sounds like he trusts you enough to make those big decisions, so it ain't really my place to judge."

Shine's eye widened. "You think so?"

"Absolutely," Barley said with a grin. "And put it this way: not every Pokemon is like you, and not every trainer is like yours." He swooped over to the chess table where the two were still on the same move. "What about you guys?"

"Well," Delphox said, blowing smoke out of his nostrils, "I wouldn't know what to do without mine, as embarrassed as I am to admit. She was the one who taught me how to play chess after all, and that's all I do outside of the contests."

To make a point of this, he stopped to knock over his opponent's Pawniard.

"Explains why yer so good at it," Quilladin grumbled, slumping in his chair. "Yeah, I dunno nothin' outside of battling. Just waitin' for my trainer to come in, really. He knows a lotta stuff I don't."

"She would barely trust me to operate a gas cooker, and I'm a fire type."

"Maybe cuz you're a fire type. The gas would go boom, wouldn't it?"

"Perhaps." Delphox smirked. "Still, I am proud of being with her."

"Me too with mine, I guess. Jus' gives me somethin' to do."

Barley sharply turned. "Besides, it seems like you had to come here for a really good reason."

"Y-yes!" Shine said, stomping a front paw onto the floor. "I-I'm not sure I can explain it, but I absolutely had to! There's someone really important here, waiting for me, and I don't know if I can pass this up!"

"Huh." Barley curved his barb into the form of a question mark. "Who is this VIP you had to meet?"

"Ooh, ooh!" Quilladin bashed his paw on the table, putting the chess pieces out of order. "Maybe it's his lover!"

"N-no," Shine stammered, who would've blushed if he could. What was it with other Pokemon thinking he and that Lucario were an item? "That's not it, I don't think. Actually, I'm here to meet a certain Lucario named Curio."

Barley froze, as stiff as a statue. Delphox was busy rearranging the chess pieces with a concerned look on his face while Quilladin stared attentively, not knowing the situation. Finally, Shine's heart pounded as he wondered if he said something he shouldn't have.

To his relief, Barley gave a warm smile.

"You're just in luck, sorta."

He sighed in relief. "Oh, bless my tail, thank you. Thank you so much."

"But, uh, maybe I should fill ya in a little."

The Gligar swooped up to grab one of the pieces off the shelf, and came down holding some sort of metal object in his claws. On closer inspection, it was an odd looking Magikarp made half to scale with empty cans of Cheri Psycho Soda for the body, yellow bits of plastic sticking out for a tail and large wads of gum for the eyes. It was a 'rare, unusual, or intriguing object' or in other words, a curio.

He somehow knew it was connected to Curio. It was only a brief glimpse, but another puzzle piece in his fractured mind connected, and he saw another vision of the past.

He didn't remember the fine details, but he was inside some sort of small room, similar to a workshop. There were metal wires and tools everywhere, like wireframes, pliers, trash and glue. There was a radio playing in the background as well, though what it played was a blur to him. There was a human, and then a Lucario, which he could only guess was Curio, in the middle of all that mess. In her paws was a metal model of a Clefairy, half constructed. Curio smiled at this, and then, when she noticed the Luxray's presence, she turned and waved at him.

"Yo?" Barley said, snapping him back to reality. "Earth to Shine?"

"O-oh, yes, right!" Shine beamed, looking at the object with a renewed interest. "She made that, didn't she?"

"Yup! We've got quite the collection from her lately! She's real talented, probably why we hired her in the first place!" Barley frowned. "And yet, we haven't heard from her in a few days."

Shine's heart sank. He didn't think to check the date on the news report, so it could've been at any time from yesterday to a few days before. Then what happened? If those Claws were so dangerous, and she was apparently missing, then…

"W-what did she say she was doing?"

"She didn't explain herself." Barley's barb drooped. "She might've said something about those dumb Claws, but she was kinda vague about it."

Then there was no question. Either they did something to her or she went off on her own to deal with the problem. The downpour finally stopped. In that case, there was no time to waste. Shine darted for the front door when Barley swooped in front of him again.

"Hold on," Barley said. "Are you going to try and find her?"

"Y-yes! I have to!"

"But it's night. And we have a bit of a pest problem in town, so it's dangerous!"

"Yes, I know, but still!" He planted his paws firmly on the floor, scratching against the smooth surface. "I just feel, if I don't find her right now, I never will!"

"Listen." He approached Shine and put a claw on his shoulder. "You know what you're gettin' into, right?"

Shine nodded, though inside, he wasn't so sure.

"And you said you're far away from home without your trainer. He cares about you, doesn't he?"

Shine nodded, then gulped. Right. He was pretty much throwing himself at the deep end here, and after worrying about his trainer so much, it seemed like a repeat of what he did to get to Dendemille in the first place. He was about to turn away and go back to the pillow pile, when Barley clicked his large tongue.

"Still, you're an adult Pokemon, just like me. If you really feel like you need to do this, then go with your gut."

"Yeah!" The Quilladin yelled, pumping his claw in the air. "Kiss some, er, what do they say, Barley?"

"Kick some _ass_." He winked. "Just don't get yourself killed before we can be buddies."

"R-right!" Shine blurted out. Yes, he was nervous. There was still that rocky sensation in his stomach. And yet, his resolve was clear. He wasn't alone. Barley had his back in this. To clear his jitters before he went, Shine took another sip from the bowl.

"Barleyyyyy!" Quilladin called, catching Shine's attention. "I'm stuuuuuck!"

On command, Barley swooped over to where the two Pokemon played. Quilladin nursed his head, still trying to find a way to end his turn while Delphox waited with bated breath. Barley crept over to the Grass Pokemon's side and whispered in his ear, and momentarily, there was a glint in his eyes. He slammed the Gardevoir, or in this case, Sirknight, over the opponent's Bisharp. In the same breath, Delphox made his move and overtook the Sirknight with his Nidoqueen.

"What?" Quilladin said, banging his paws on the table. "That's not fair, I only just made that move!"

Delphox smiled. "So? It's not my fault you suck."

"I suck? You ain't better than me cuz you're good at a human's game! You suck!"

"Hey," Barley said, "that was my fault, but let's not have that her-"

Quilladin stood from his seat, lifted the table's leg and flipped it over. Shine slinked quietly from the PokeStop to the sound of chess pieces tumbling everywhere with a crash.

* * *

 **Chapter 2 Patchnotes (11/02/20):**

From the windmill scene onwards, there are huge changes to the interactions, with some side characters changed entirely, trimmed down or expanded on, with a focus on tweaking Shine's memory aspect, which was inconsistent in the previous revision. So almost half of it has basically been rewritten while the base plot is still the same.


	3. Dendemille's Dealer

Shine sat beneath the awning of The Vine, breathing in the air of the rain-slick pavement. Since his stay at the Pokestop, the atmosphere of the town had completely changed. The sky was coal-black, and unlike before, there were barely any humans or Pokemon roaming Dendemille. The streetlamps illuminated the paths ahead, with one of them clicking and flickering in the middle like a strobe. A ghost town, god forbid if there were actually ghost types plaguing Dendemille. Were there any recent hauntings around Kalos, or in the papers?

Shine shook his head. If what Barley said was true, he had to get a move on. Suddenly aware of his surroundings, as well as rumours of the town's dark underbelly, Shine took a deep breath and focused on his abilities. He wouldn't get anywhere if he threw himself blindly into the streets. So, he turned his golden vision on, making the outlines of the buildings a milky white and everything else transparent. Almost everyone and their Pokemon had settled down for the day in their humble abodes. Everyone except for one group a few blocks ahead: white shapes consisting of few stray cats, a human, and a Lucario.

There. Shine had a lead at last. He didn't check to see if it was the Lucario he came to Dendemille for, but it was something at least. And so, Shine stepped out of the canopy and onto the damp cobblestones. His paws tingled, brimming with electrical energy. Then, he ran, sending sparks flying behind him. He weaved through the streets, the various buildings in his way, the parked cars, the occasional bystander he had to avoid shocking, and finally, the alleyway that lead to the group. As Shine entered the alley, however, a strange smell invaded his nostrils: the familiar stench of iron. His heart sank, and the rocky sensation in his stomach rushed back to him. Wearily, he padded through the walled path, scouting for the source of the smell. And there it was.

A Rattata lay motionless on the floor. There were scratch marks over the rest of its body, but the most noticeable feature was its...

Its ribs…

Shine turned away, suppressing the urge to vomit. This didn't make sense: he was a feline Pokemon, so the sight shouldn't have been such a shock to him. It certainly wasn't in his own stray days before he met Tony. So, why now?

Familiar images flashed in his head, of the eye and the arm. No, not now, not here. He couldn't afford to have yet another episode. Yet, he'd never forget that taste, that smell, and that crushing feeling of despair that came with both of those memories. Yet they were also so far away. He couldn't understand it. What did he understand about himself anyway? Yet again, he was usele-

A scream echoed through the air. A human scream, followed by mewling and a sympathetic cry from another Pokemon. Before he knew what he was doing, Shine sprang forward, running out of the alleyway and into the fray. He didn't know why, but somehow, he knew he had to step in to help.

Before him was a trainer, sprawled out on the ground with a gash in her leg. Her Lucario stood in front of her, shooting aura spheres from his paws at a group of attacking cats. He lacked the metal arm Curio had. The Claws sprang from side to side, dodging every projectile, while the Lucario's attacks were beginning to take a toll on his stamina as he panted. But he worked as a suitable distraction. The Claws were so focused on the duo that they didn't even pay attention to Shine.

Shine could've run away and avoided this trouble, since the two were basically strangers. Either because of the Lucario connection, or because of seeing those in need of help before him, Shine's resolve was clear. That's when he pounced forward, swiping at one of the Meowth with a charged set of claws. It hit, knocking them to the floor as they convulsed with electric energy.

There were four other Claws left, all of which hissed when they finally noticed Shine. One Glameow lunged forward with a set of Fury Swipes, and Shine leapt back, dodging it. But the other three ran towards him, all sinking their teeth into his flesh. He yelped as they tore into him, but that wouldn't last long. His electric field was only strengthened by the wet ground beneath him. So, he took a deep breath. He needed to focus. And as soon as he got past the immediate pain of the other Claws, he discharged all of his energy, shocking the remaining opponents. Yet the other Glameow was left. Shine bared his teeth, preparing for another bout, when the Lucario joined him, aura at the ready.

The Glameow only sneered and turned her back on them. "Nyeh, you'll pay fer dis."

With that, she ran away, leaving the other fainted Claws behind. A moment passed as the Luxray and Lucario looked at each other, trying to process what had happened. Before they could take a breather, however, the fallen trainer groaned, struggling to get on her feet. The wound was still fresh. The Lucario's cool demeanor vanished, replaced with a newfound sense of worry as he tended to his trainer.

"Oh, oh g-g-god," the Lucario said. "P-please tell me you're alright, oh dear, it's all my fault, it's all my faul-"

"H-hey," the trainer said with a smile, "it's fine, it's not as bad as it looks." She sat up and pointed to her bag. Its belongings were strewn about on the floor, and the strap was broken, but she still had it with her. "Can you be a dear and get the first aid kit out, please?"

The Lucario nodded, paws shaking nervously as he picked up the trainer's stuff. She turned to Shine next.

"Well, I dunno where your trainer is, but thanks a ton. You really helped us out there."

Shine shook his head. _"I couldn't just stand and do nothing."_

Her eyes widened for a brief moment before returning to their usual size. "Huh, I must be extra lucky toda—" She cut herself off, wincing as her Lucario rubbed the curative paste on her wound. This struck Shine as rather curious, though he imagined it would've been common sense to have a Pokemon that knew first aid around. Instead of questioning it, he looked with his golden vision for any more signs of the Claws. There were none. At least, not at a close distance.

 _"Isn't there a centre nearby?"_ Shine said. _"They can treat your wounds."_

"Yeah," the trainer said, trying to suppress the pain. "I need to walk back, though, and if those Pokemon nab me while I'm out, I'm toast. This'll just make the trip easier."

She gave one last wince before the Lucario stepped back, his paws still shaking. He managed to completely tie the bandage. For that, the trainer called him closer and gently scratched his chin.

"You did a great job." She placed her hand on his shoulder. "Help me up a sec."

The Lucario got her up to her feet and supported her as she applied weight to her wounded leg. She gasped and fell back in her Pokemon's arms.

 _"Will you be alright?"_ Shine asked.

"Er, actually, we could use some help getting back to town, just so we don't get caught out again."

Shine winced and looked behind him. There was still the possibility Curio was out there, wherever he was. He didn't want to delay it any further if it meant she was in danger.

"P-p-please?" the Lucario said, pulling off those baby doll eyes. "We, um, can make it worth your while."

There was something he had in mind for that Lucario in particular. If he was able to use his aura to scout out different Pokemon from far distances, something he couldn't do himself with his own vision, then there was a snowball's chance he'd be able to find Curio. So, Shine sighed and joined the two.

 _"Alright, I'll help you."_

The two smiled before making their way down the downtrodden streets of Dendemille. The atmosphere grew thicker, since Shine had found out first hand why the Claws were so dreaded. The streetlights rapidly clicked each time Shine walked past them, which occasionally startled the poor accompanying Lucario, but aside from that, their journey to the Pokemon centre flew by. A bit too quickly, if Shine was honest with himself. There was barely anybody that crossed paths with them. One look told him with his golden vision that everyone was hiding inside. No matter. Once they were greeted by the dim red sign of the Pokemon centre, their hearts were more at ease. The trainer sighed and limped over to a nearby bench outside with her Lucario accompanying her. They looked to Shine with an appreciative smile.

"You're a star," the trainer said, "seriously, we owe you a lot. I oughta-" As soon as she patted her trouser pocket, her brow furrowed. She sat up as much as her good leg could support her and sifted through all of her pockets and belongings until coming to one conclusion.

"Crap, they took my wallet."

The two Pokemon let out a cry of 'what?!' in their respective tongues.

"Nah, it's fine," the trainer said with a laugh.

 _"You seem awfully relaxed about it,"_ Shine said.

"Well, the money's not the problem here if I can just get a new card." She crossed her arms. "It's got my trainer ID and lots of other stuff though, so without that, I'm kinda screwed."

"W-w-what are we gonna do?" The Lucario said, tugging at his aura sensors. "We-we can't-"

"Hey, it's alright." The trainer wrapped her arm around him, stroking the side of his neck. "We'll dig our way out of this hole somehow." She pursed her lips. "Though it'd be great to know what the heck they'd need cash for anyway. I've never known Pokemon to handle it, if they ever could."

The Lucario seemed satisfied by that answer, though Shine only snorted. He resisted the urge to tell her otherwise and decided to cut to the chase. Perhaps he could've killed two Pidgey with one Rock Throw.

 _"Listen, there's something I need to ask your Lucario. There's someone important I need to find and his aura might be the key to discovering her whereabouts."_ To make it less of a one-sided deal, Shine bowed and added: _"If I am to go out there again, I could help to find your missing purse as well."_

"Wallet, not purse," she corrected, then waved a hand up. "Just kidding, call it what you want. But if you could find it, that would be great." The trainer rose up, supporting herself on a nearby wall leading to the centre, and looked to her Pokemon. "I'll be waiting at the front, so meet me back there. I'll be alright from here on out."

The Lucario looked at her with pleading eyes. He tried to say something, but thought against it, and glanced back at Shine. For a moment, he thought the Lucario would've requested him to relay something in human tongue, but that was cut short when she nodded and entered the Pokemon centre. The two Pokemon were alone.

If there was any wind, a tumbleweed probably would've passed between them. Shine licked at one of the small wounds from his earlier encounter, and then, the actual weight of his actions had sunk in. He didn't hesitate to step in at a time of need, and if he was being honest with himself, that felt good. His present worries were lifted for now, and he felt like a completely different Luxray. Well, almost. The Lucario stared at the spot where his right eye used to be, wincing. Oh no, did he look ugly with that?

"I-I-I'm sorry," the Lucario said, whimpering.

"For what?" Shine said.

"F-f-for what you've been through. I read into your aura." He clenched his fists. "It j-j-just feels s-so hopeless. Like, s-something terrible happened, yet everything about it's been locked away in some v-v-vault, or something. I w-w-wish I could help you with that."

Shine looked to the side, avoiding eye contact. That rocky feeling in his stomach returned.

"O-oh, sorry, I didn't mean to upset you." The Lucario fell back on the bench and cradled his legs. "I-I'm such an idiot, idiot, idiot-"

"Don't say that," Shine said, scowling at him. That only made the Lucario retreat further into his ball of fluff. Perhaps he came across a bit too strongly, but he wasn't mad at him. Then, why the sour reaction? Again, if he was being truthful, he heard more of his own voice in that Lucario than their own, even down to how he used to stutter. So that was why. Dammit, he was the one being the idiot. And yet Curio was still out there somewhere, the one that would help fix this mess. He needed to get back on track without upsetting the poor Lucario any more. So, he joined him on the bench and leaned into his side.

"Listen. You're not an idiot. You reacted very quickly when you applied that first aid, and you helped me chase off the last of those other Pokemon. I'd say you've got a lot to be proud of."

"I-I know, maybe." He tugged at his aura sensors again "I-I'm just not good at t-t-talking to others. Without my t-t-trainer, I don't know how to act." He unfurled from his ball and sighed. "The other P-P-Pokemon in my team make fun of me for that."

That was something Shine could relate to, however subconsciously. Yet again, truthfully, he didn't know what to say to reassure him. He wasn't exactly a grizzled sage himself. What would she have said in this situation? If only he could- oh wait, there was one thing he remembered, however vague it was.

"A good friend told me something, or at least, I believe she was my friend."

"Y-you believe?"

"Just a hunch. But she told me to just focus on myself and not worry about what others would think about me."

"R-really? I don't know."

Shine sighed. This was all too familiar to him, which made it all the more frustrating to hear. He didn't have a definitive answer for this, but he had to try anyway.

"Maybe it won't come immediately. You might be still young. But you'll get better at it. Just focus on what you think you're good at."

There was another moment of silence before the Lucario pulled himself together. "O-okay. I guess I might."

"Good," he said with a smile. Now onto the good stuff. "Back to what we said earlier about making it worth my while…"

"Yeah, I know. You want me to tell you about someone, right?"

"Yes. It's another Lucario, except one with a metal arm. I don't know how that would read on your aura, but it might help."

"Y-yeah, okay." The Lucario stood up, pointing to a cluster of trees at the edge of town. There was a hint of orange lighting up the dark greens of the leaves. "Go straight up that path to Route 15, and you'll see her on the outskirts there. I can see she's adding something to something, like she's lighting a fire. It's kind of hard to tell."

"Alright." Shine stood up and faced the path ahead of him.

"And, er, whatever your name is," the Lucario added with a smile, "thank you."

Shine smiled back and sprinted through the path ahead. His heart pumped. His breaths were light. His heavy paws pounded on the pavement and echoed through the streets. That was it. He would've finally found Curio, the Lucario that would lead to him regaining his memories. His life was in motion again, like a stubborn leaf blowing through a gale. As the momentum of his limbs carried him, he saw himself catching up to her any second, even if he couldn't see her with his naked eye. It was tiring. It was fun. It was-

"Geddim!"

Shine's ears twitched. Multiple sets of paws pounded from the distance behind him. As he ran more and more, it got louder, turning from faint slithers of noise to an assortment of marches sounding in different rhythms. Shine didn't look back, but his heart quickened and he continued running. As Shine finally saw the border that separated the town from the route, he sprang forward and sprinted, but his movements became erratic, no longer going in a straight line. The sounds of the Claws behind him went from marches to stomps as their paws slapped the floor. Shine still focused on his goal, not taking an eye off the gate.

"Night Slash!"

A hot streak of red tore through Shine's leg, staggering him instantly. His face met the concrete. Without thinking, Shine clambered his way forward with his forepaws. He had to keep going, but dammit, why now when he was so powerful before? He only covered a few paces before what felt like hundreds of paws grabbed his body. They spoke amongst themselves, all understanding obscured by a cacophony of dozens of mewling voices, and dragged him into the darkness of the alleyway.

"Right guys, I wanna good look at his mug!"

Shine tried to squirm away, however, many sets of paws pinned him down, only giving him leeway to move his head and swish his tail. He tried to resist otherwise, but ended up getting swept up by the fleshy current. Another set of paws picked him up by his side and flipped him over, giving a full view of the Thousand Claws for him to see. Shine took a deep breath and prepared himself for their big reveal after all this searching.

It wasn't quite a thousand, not even by a quarter, but it was still a lot.

A mix of shadows blended in with one another, all shifting at the sides of the walls. Although he hadn't adjusted to the dark immediately, one thing that stuck out to him was the stench, somewhere halfway between wet fur and rotten eggs. He gagged at that, but swallowed back the bile. As for the shadows, one look with his golden vision revealed all. Various cat Pokemon crowded around the sides, all marked with scars and fur discoloured with garbage and grime, sitting in formation around a Meowth. They looked the most battle scarred out of the group, with three massive orange streaks covering the face save for their eyes, which were two thin irises of bright blue. They sniffed around him, poking their nose in various places on Shine's body, who was still pinned down by the gang before him.

"Say," the Meowth said in a high pitched drawl, "ya smell awfully nice, ya know. Not like us. We can't getta decent place to bathe. We don't even wanna lick ourselves clean, we're that awful. But youze." He coursed his calloused paws through Shine's mane. "Youze is very smooth, and soapy. There's only one type-a Pokemon that smells like that around here, izzat right?"

A few weak mewls came from the stray pack.

"So, where's your trainer, huh? Seems like the kinda fella that has a lot of dough. Tell ya what, why don't you walk us over to him, huh?"

Shine grunted, his leg still throbbing from the open wound. They were interrogating him over how nice he smelled, of all things. Why did Tony have to bathe him beforehand?

"Why does that matter to you?"

To that, the Meowth frowned and swiped a claw across Shine's face.

"Did I say ya could talk back? _Hell_ no, you don't realise who you're messin' with! This is our turf!"

More mewling came from the circle.

"Come on, least you can do is tell us!"

"He's nowhere near this town."

The Meowth tugged on Shine's mane, pulling him closer to the point Shine could smell his decay-ridden breath.

"Whaddya mean, he's nowhere near this town? What're you doin' here then, huh?"

"That means I have nothing to offer you. Now, if you let me go, I have places to be, forget the leg."

"Like I said, that doesn't tell me nuthin'! Don't screw with me like-" The Meowth's eyes widened and he let go of Shine's mane. He held a paw close to his face and muttered to himself before turning to the rest of the pack, who spoke in a chaotic chorus. When he finally turned, the Meowth hissed at Shine, making every other member join him in unison.

"So you're one of them, huh?" The Meowth punched him that time, clocking Shine across his jaw. He groaned as the Meowth pulled him up by his mane again.

"You're the kindsa Pokemon I hate da most, the kindsa Pokemon that act so high and mighty on their own, the kindsa Pokemon that think they can jus' waltz anywhere they like without trouble! Ya wouldn't be nuthin' if it wasn't for your trainer, you're nuthin' but a pet!"

Punch after punch flew across Shine's head. He gritted his teeth, withstanding the blows and trying to find some other way out of the situation. Although he couldn't move his body, his tail was still free, which was enough, and so he wagged it back and forth, charging up the static field around his body. Some of them reacted to it as their fur stuck up, but by then, it was too late.

Shine released his charge, shocking everyone that restrained him, including the Meowth. The rest of the Claws let go, convulsing on the floor, and the Meowth stood, shaking rapidly. Without hesitation, Shine stood up and limped his way out of the alleyway, trying to run. His leg burned from the still open wound, but there was no time to think. He sprang towards the border, gritting his teeth as he focused on reaching Curio, bad leg or not.

The familiar sets of paws stomped behind him. He tried not to turn back as he got closer and closer, and finally, like the Lucario said, plumes of smoke rose up into the night sky.

All at once, the Claws tackled him. A dozen sets of calloused paws smothered his back and dug into the skin. They hissed and growled, tearing new open wounds in various places around Shine's body. With each new cut, he sent screams that echoed into the night. Each attempt at storing up electricity was interrupted with more flashes of pain. They stopped, pinning him down to the ground for their leader to stagger in front of Shine, blocking his view of the border. The Meowth caressed the part of Shine's face where his eye was missing.

"Ya know, I wonder what happened to that eye of yours." If there was any hint of compassion in his voice, that faded away when the leader smiled and pointed a claw at his remaining eye.

"Don't matter. Now you'll have a matching set."

No matter how hard he tried to free himself from his grasp, the other Claws held his head back too, preventing him from even tilting it. With no options left, Shine braced himself for the impact. The moment lasted a few seconds, but it felt like minutes to Shine. There was all the time in the world to think, yet none at the same time. This was happening too fast. He only hoped someone out there would notice him.

A cloud of sugar and sweet tea wafted in the air. One whiff of it distracted him from his fate and brought back memories of the vineyard and all its familiar smells. All of the Claws in front of him turned their heads towards the border, sniffing at the air. One by one, the Claws wandered into the distance in a pack, and the Meowth took a few paces before he turned around with a wide smile on his face.

"Hey, hey, don't forget him, we still gots business with him! Dat smell though..."

He joined the rest of the pack, cackling as he padded over to the source of the pleasant stench. Shine was accounted for as well, as a set of paws lifted him off his feet and slowly carried him. He shivered with all the cuts around his body, and he fell limply into the paws of his captors. His eye flickered open and shut. Everything in his system told him to sleep, but the thoughts of Curio kept him awake.

The rest of the trip continued like this, drifting between alertness and drowsiness, and eventually, Shine closed his eye for a moment and caught a wink of sleep.

* * *

 **"They want us to name ourselves, or somethin'. I came up with one already, so what about you, huh?"**

 **...**

 **"Nothing yet? You could talk to me if you want help with one."**

 **...**

 **"Okay, I'm gettin' sick of this silent treatment! If you wanna be that way, fine, but I'm namin' you anyway, something like, like... Shine! You're Shine from here on out! S-H-I-N-E. Got me?"**

* * *

When he awakened to a glow of orange, there she was, standing in front of the fire. The Lucario with the metal arm. The Lucario that hung out with strangers at night. The Lucario that wrecked the crops in the vineyard. His old friend, Curio.

"How's it going, you _bastards_?" She presented a bag to the Claws that crowded around her feet. "This is what you've been lookin' for, a bag full of catnip and many other things to stuff your faces with!"

She lowered it for a moment, and raised it back into the air when all the other Claws leaned against her legs, trying to nab their prize.

"What's this? You want it all, huh? Well, I guess I could hand it to you here, buuuuuuut..." She turned to the leader, who drooled in the bag's presence. "I think you have somethin' of mine you need to return first. So how 'bout it?"

The Meowth stared for a moment before slapping himself in the face, pulling him out of his catnip coma. "Yeah, yeah, sure, we ain't had much use for him anyhow. So we'll take the bag now and-"

"Ah, ah, ah, one thing I forgot to mention, there's something else you've gotta do before you earn this." Her cheerful expression dropped. "Take back everythin' else you stole, get outta this town and split up."

"What?" the Meowth exclaimed, pointing a claw towards her. "You're on the freakin' moon if you expect us to do that, this is our town! And what's it to you, you don't care about what we do anyway!"

Curio absent-mindedly picked at her ears, holding the bag close to her. "Well, I guess that's true in a way. I don't care about what you do to get by; every Mon's gotta fill their bellies somehow." She gnashed her sharp teeth. "So far though, you guys have been like pests. And I've seen pests like you that've done less _crappy_ things in the cities, and you know what happens to them?"

"What?"

"They get exterminated."

At that, the Meowth's eyes widened and the pack took a few paces back to join him.

"W-what?"

"You heard me. You don't have a leg to stand on. Why should the police care about what you go through anyway? To them, you're just a bunch of vermin."

"Y-yer wrong, we're-"

"Shut your hole." She scowled at them. "Look, when someone finally gets off their _ass_ here and comes to deal with the situation with all their Growlithe and Arcanine and whatnot, you know what'll happen to you?"

The Meowth stared at her, mouth agape.

"Cat got your tongue? Okay, I'll answer for you. They'll char your bones to dust."

All of the Claws cowered before the leader, and the Meowth turned to the rest of his gang, conversing in shrill mewls. Finally, he commanded them to stand in formation around him, hissing at Curio.

"Ya-ya can't threaten us, who d'ya think you are, ya _dumbass_! My Claws will tear ya to shreds and-" He gasped as Curio held the bag over the fire.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Curio said in a mocking tone, leaning closer to the gang as the bag hung over the flames. "I don't play that sort of game. Lay a finger on me or Shine and I'll drop the bag! Just think of it. You'll probably never get this chance again in your miserable lives. And you guys want that taste really badly, right?"

They nodded in unison.

"Then I'll only give you two options. Leave us alone and never come back, or watch all of this burn! So what's it gonna be, huh?"

The Claws stood motionlessly alongside their leader.

"Come on, I ain't got all night. Oh! Maybe you need a little push. How's this, then?"

Curio stepped back and outstretched her metal arm towards the group, giving them a full view of the palm of her hand which had a red spot in the middle of it. The gang tracked the movements of her hand as she aimed it at them, until the red spot opened like a gate, revealing its metallic insides. Then, a blue ball of energy grew from the inside of it. The other Claws screamed at the sight, backing further and further away from their shaking leader.

"Wanna see what this arm can do?"

The Meowth hyperventilated and fell on his knees, holding out both his paws in front of him.

"Okay, okay, okay, I'll bite, we'll leave it all with ya, take the bag and leave, jus' stop whatever you're doin'! Stop!"

The sphere disappeared and the hole in her hand closed over.

"There," she said with a toothy grin. "That wasn't so hard, was it?"

In exchange for all of the leftover wallets from their stash, which they passed in a conga line to her, Curio threw the bag to the ground in return. The sight of those tiny bags of powder, flowers and colourful looking fruits sent the gang over the edge. One by one, the Claws poked their heads into the bag and headed towards the forest. Eventually, the group that held Shine let go as well, dropping his limp body onto the grass as they joined the rest. The Meowth was the last to join, who retrieved a lone silvervine fruit and cupped it in his paws. He clutched it in his chest and inhaled deeply. With that, he seemed satisfied, but before he left, he scowled at Curio.

"I thought you was crazy for a Pokemon, or even for somethin' like a human, but you're not even that! You're an it!"

Just like the rest, the Meowth ran towards the route and disappeared into the night, but not before Curio flipped the Skarmory behind their backs, blowing a Razzberry.

A moment passed between them. Shine kept silent, not knowing what to say, and Curio cast a glance at Shine's direction. It came back to him. Her green eyes glowed in the dark, like they always did, and even the new scar across her muzzle didn't blemish her face. It was the first time they made eye contact in five years. That moment of serene silence broke as Curio burst into laughter, falling to her knees.

"Holy _crap_ , I'm literally shaking." To punctuate that, she held her remaining paw up, which wobbled in the air. "I didn't think that'd actually work. Either they were really dumb or I was just lucky."

His vision faded as the stinging sensation of his wounds got to him at last. Curio bent over, putting her paw behind his head.

"Uh, Shine?"

Before he could say anything to reassure her, Shine fainted.

* * *

 **Chapter 3 Patchnotes (11/02/20):**

The first half of this chapter has been changed drastically while still keeping the end goal the same. The original Luccy scene was tossed out in favour of something more action focused and more showing of the Claws' impact instead of just telling like the last one. I also had to change that scene's motivation since someone found a part of it out of character for the other main character involved. The rest is pretty much the same.


	4. Dendemille's Brawlers Part 1

**"Hey, Shine."**

 **"Y-yes?"**

 **"I've kinda been thinking about Mama again. It's hard, y'know. I'm just wonderin' if you can read more of her book to me."**

 **"O-oh, yes, absolutely. I'm not too busy. You enjoyed the last story, didn't you?"**

 **"Kinda, but I also fell asleep. Something about Arceus makin' the world or something. Ah well. I guess that's what bedtime stories are for, so it must'a worked."**

 **"Well, good to hear. Alright, I guess I could continue with the first story after the prologue, fittingly called Part the First. Ahem."**

 **"Once, trees grew from blood-soaked soil. After the gods slept, man and Pokemon fought against one another, killing millions. Only then, did their blood mix into the land. From there, they tried to co-exist, but the pieces did not entirely fit together. Pokemon still could not fully understand man, and so, their worlds remained separate, or so they thought."**

 **"In one corner of the earth, a human couple took a lonely egg from a nearby mountain and kept it warm in their cottage. They could not bear children, as the woman was infertile. However, after the egg hatched into a male Bonsly, they took care of him as their own. Despite his nature, they adapted by airing out the cottage whenever possible, as Bonsly could not stay too damp, or else, die. Even when forced to hunt Pokemon to sustain themselves for the day in their rickety abode, they spent every other second looking after the Pokemon, so much so, the villagers grew distant from them."**

 **"At first, he only spoke in cries and moans. After spending a prolonged amount of time with them, however, he uttered his first few words in the human tongue: 'love you'. Love is an abstract and immaterial concept, but known to Pokemon all the same. To have a mate or a family member to confide in is the very essence of love, but to describe it is like trying to catch the wind with a net. Even the word itself is a construction of human cultures. Yet this one Pokemon harnessed the very essence of his human caretakers."**

 **"Although this surprised the two, they welcomed Bonsly with open arms and passed their knowledge down to him. How to make hides. How to cook a hearty meat stew. How to make a poultice from nearby berries. With each task fulfilled, the humans and the Pokemon grew closer. Nevertheless, his parents remained cautious and warned him to keep silent outside. The idea of Pokemon speaking human, for one thing, was an affront to nature, as it was not by the white god's design, which scared the settlers within their village. Beyond that, it was said that if Pokemon were allowed to speak, they would show themselves as the dominant species and break the great chain of being, bringing chaos unto the world."**

 **"By the time the Bonsly evolved into a Sudowoodo, sprouting to double his size, he could converse fully with his surrogate parents. He would question the world, his own existence, and everything both infinitely large and infinitesimal. Although the parents found themselves unable to answer, the Sudowoodo's curiosity was boundless. He desired to explore the world at large, to see that giant ball of fire sink into the sea, to see campfires shine brilliant lights in empty woods, and to see the solar winds drape the skies with blankets of colour."**

 **"Despite his wishes, his surrogates would not allow him to leave. They could not enforce it, only persuade against, and so, he obeyed, for the moment. While they slept, the Sudowoodo ventured outside."**

 **"Stillness surrounded the village. Everyone had turned in for the night, and from what the Sudowoodo heard, everyone had different duties. One was a trader of foreign goods. A herder of Mareep. A tamer of Pokemon. They all seemed to have different callings in life, so why didn't he? The Sudowoodo, who could walk on two legs and talk, just like them. Why?"**

 **"His first sighting was of two Houndoom kept on an iron leash. Curious, he dwelled near, only to stop as they barked at him. His scent was unusual. Must be an intruder. The Sudowoodo only bowed in front of them though, extending his branches as they watched with a newfound curiosity. He smiled, then channeled his energy into the leaves, making them change colour. The two Houndoom remained silent. Their reactions, he couldn't quite figure out. Were they scared of the intruder? Or were they entranced?"**

 **"A villager kicked the door open, fuming at the scene before him. He demanded an explanation. His Sudowoodo delivered in the same tongue as them. Surely, they would stand to reason as his surrogates did. Then, to his surprise, the villager released the bindings on the Houndoom and commanded their Pokemon to attack. He was forced to hide in plain sight by turning into a tree, allowing his escape."**

 **"Once he returned home, however, his cottage was in flames. The humans who had raised him knelt down in front of the chief, who summoned a pair of Houndoom at their feet from their binding spell, ready to attack. The Sudowoodo charged through the mob to meet his surrogates and pleaded for their lives, begging to leave his loved ones alone. The chief only saw something unnatural and commanded the Houndoom to fire. The Sudowoodo caught alight, in front of his parents who taught them the very thing that destroyed their home. Before he burned out completely, through the flames, the Sudowoodo stood in the middle of the mob's circle and spoke thus."**

 **""You came with your swords, torches and predators, I came with my human tongue. I might be the first to speak your language, but I will certainly not be the last. These words will spread like wildfire even after I burn out."**

 **"He turned to ash, as did his surrogates, and so, the village moved on while the cottage's remains laid still. The two Houndoom, however, learned to understand their master, and devoured them before fleeing that land. They would spend the rest of their days travelling through the wild. Even in spirit, the Sudowoodo's wish to see the world carried through them, as they saw all sorts of wonders, the most magnificent of which were the lights of the great aurora."**

 **"Some day, you, dear reader, will realise the possibilities of the world around you, and the dangers that come with shutting off your heart to the possibility of change."**

 **"For anything is possible in this world of worlds: The Manifold Curiosity."**

 **"Huh."**

 **"Huh?"**

 **"I ain't so sure about how to feel about that one. It was kinda depressing, to be honest. So… speak human and you'll be burnt to a crisp? That's not what we've been taught, is it?"**

 **"O-oh, no, I, um, don't think that's what the author meant. The Sudowoodo was in the right. And besides, how can Rock types be burnt to ashes anyway? At least, from what I read in the typing guide."**

 **"Yeah, but wood burns! A lot! And he has wood in the name, so what gives?"**

 **"I, um, I'm not sure what to say to that."**

 **"Ah well. Sorry for going off and stuff. You did make me feel better though. I think Mama would really like this kinda story."**

 **"Good to hear."**

 **"So, um, how about that next one?"**

 **"Go on. We have time before our next lesson."**

 **"Oh, right? Err, what are we doing again?"**

 **"Language studies. We should be doing tongue twisters this time around."**

 **"Ah, right. Well, thanks a bunch, Shine."**

 **"Any time, Curio."**

* * *

Shine woke up outside of the treatment bay room. There were many Pokeballs hooked to healing machines in the various stacks of shelves, and he was right in the middle of it. So he was in a Pokemon centre. No wonder it smelled so clinical. And he could stand properly as well! The wounds were completely gone, and his torn up leg was as good as new, which he reflexively shook. He didn't know what he expected after last night, but it certainly was a surprise. Yet, the most surprising sight of all was Curio. She stood to his right with her arms crossed, looking at one of the nurses, except it clearly wasn't Nurse Joy if the pink stubble was anything to go by.

 _"Well,"_ Curio said in her distinct human tongue, _"we free to go now? You've kinda been keepin' me here all night, with no good movies or anythin'. The entertainment's really weak here, you know."_

"Um, okay," Nurse Boy said, "but everything looks fine, and his leg's healed up now, so go for it."

 _"Awesome."_ Curio headed out of the treatment bay through to the main hall with her satchel bag in tow. Shine stood still for a moment, not fully processing what to do next. It still didn't feel real, not even after last night. Getting saved by her was more like a dream than anything else.

"Don't you wanna follow after her, bud?" Nurse Boy said, scratching his Gogoat chin.

 _"E-er, yeah, right."_ Shine shambled out of the room to try and catch up with Curio, eventually walking by her side. Shine's heart pumped rapidly. Dammit, what was there to be so nervous about? It was only his friend, a long-lost, potentially off-putting one at that, so why? He tried to speak, though no words came out of his mouth. Curio didn't respond either, walking out of the Pokemon centre and onto Dendemille's sun-baked pavement. Only when they were out, Curio stopped and turned to face Shine for the first time. His heart skipped a beat as he saw that scarred face in broad daylight.

"Shine," she said with a frown, kneeling down to his level. "What the _hell_ you were thinking last night?!" She grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him violently. He was taken aback, both by her sudden exclamation and the chilling cold of that arm brushing against his fur. Right, that arm. She still had the metal arm. That unnatural thing. Why-

"Well?!"

Right, no time to waste. Shine gulped down his fear and spoke.

"I, uh, I was looking for you, I heard—"

"Yeah, I know that much. Barley said you went snoopin' around, and that's fine and all, but becoming that Meowth's ransom shouldn't have been on your to-do list! So I'll ask again, what were you thinking?"

Shine was speechless. He couldn't pick up the pace, and Curio kept shaking him to try and get out of his stupor. It all became too much for him at once, and his lip quivered.

"I-I don't know," he said, on the verge of tears. "I-I just wanted to see you again."

Her grip softened, though it was still as cold as ever.

"You idiot." She looked scornful for a moment, then slowly, wrapped her arms around Shine's body. "Stupid, _crap_ for brains, idiot." She leaned in closer to Shine to the point where the tip of her spike touched his chest. Somehow, he trusted her enough not to impale him.

"Oh, who am I kidding? It's great to see you again, Sunshine."

Sunshine. Just like the morning sun shining on his back, the mention of that nickname warmed his body. He hadn't heard that name in so long, and yet, like a hot water bottle or a good book to read under a lamplight, that brought him back to those better days. Even through the quiet sobs, Shine smiled and stood on his hindpaws to embrace her. They held for that moment as time went to a standstill, and it was just them. The scent of mud on Curio's fur. The crackling of his own static field reacting to her arm. And then, a few titters coming from far away. There was a pack of Furfrou belonging to a preppy-looking trainer, who laughed at the scene from the other side of the road. That brought Shine out of the moment.

"Oh dear," Shine said, "we probably look kind of silly, don't we?"

"Eh, screw 'em. Who cares what they think?" Curio patted him on the back once more before backing away from him. They stared at each other for a moment longer. Even then, this still didn't feel real. There were so many questions he had to ask. Who was he to her? Why was she in Kalos? How much did she remember that he didn't? His head was stuffed to the brim with jumbled puzzle pieces.

"I don't even know where to start."

"Yeah, same as you." Curio stood and patted the dust off her blue pants. "But I've got places to be, so we might as well figure stuff out on the way. How's that sound?"

With nowhere else to go, Shine nodded, and Curio led the way through the various streets of Dendemille. He glanced at a few of the passers-by on his side, who was surprised to see they paid no attention to the two strutting Pokemon. In general, the citizens were less downcast and more eager to smile. Then he remembered how apprehensive they were around him when the Thousand Claws still inhabited the city and how Curio drove them out. That was a good place to start.

"Sorry you had to drag me to the Pokemon centre," he said. "I wish we had met under less desperate conditions."

"Well," Curio said, "them's the breaks, I guess. Hopefully we won't have to deal with those guys ever again. Hopefully."

"You mean you don't know?"

"Eh, they're slower than a buncha Slowpoke in molasses, but I'm sure they'll get the hint."

"Yes, perhaps."

There was a period of silence between them. The conversation deteriorated from there, even as Shine tried to think of something else to say. What did she think of him? He wasn't exactly setting a good first, or rather, first-in-a-while impression. He thought himself as rather boring whenever he introduced himself to new people. Or maybe that was the inner critic speaking again.

"Look, Shine," she said, "you don't hafta worry about coming up with stuff. We've got plenty of time today."

Somehow, she read his mind. Maybe it was that aura power of hers, but he shook his head, continuing with the conversation. "Yes, I know." Then, a lightbulb flashed in his head. "Actually, more about the Claws, why did they come here anyway?"

Curio blew a raspberry. "I dunno. They were just a bunch of _pissed off_ strays basically. No owner, nowhere to go, and no one to really take them in."

Human swear aside, he held onto that thought as he remembered his own experiences as a stray. Reading in the library at day as his only source of solace, digging through the trash at night out of neccessity. It wasn't something he wanted to remember, but it was a part of his history, just like everything else, including GeL.

"So, what did you do with all of the stolen goods, anyway?"

"Eh, I returned them to the station; I wasn't gonna hold onto 'em like an idiot." She grinned. "Might've nicked a few notes here and there, but nobody'll notice."

Shine glanced at her, surprised by her admitted crime. He was about to bring it up, when-

"Welp, we're here!"

Curio stopped outside a cafe with the design of an Alolan Raichu holding pancakes plastered onto the window. Shine pushed that other thought to the back of his mind and focused on the cafe's environment. The most noticeable feature was the group of Pikachu and Pichu crowded around the middle, playing with each other as they skittered across the floor. In the midst of all of this were a few customers with their own Pokemon, enjoying the company of the Pikachu as they allowed themselves to be petted. There were all sorts of decorations as well, with plants hanging from the ceiling and doodles of various Pokemon adorning the walls.

"So this is a Pikachu Cafe," Shine said.

"Well duh. It's not called The Yellow Rat for no reason."

"Yes, I know that." He grumbled, trying to recover from Curio's quip. "It's just the first time seeing one in person. I thought it would've been more common in the bigger cities."

"Well, you're right about that. Eevee cafes, Meowth cafes, you name it, you could literally open up anything over there from what I've seen."

Shine thought about that for a moment. So she seemed well travelled, that much was true. Then, wait, was it true that they could open any type of cafe?

"What about a Koffing cafe?"

"Koffe! But nah, you'd need a gas mask for that sorta thing."

Shine chuckled at that mental image.

"Okay, let's go in. I'm starving." Curio opened the door, holding it for Shine as he entered. The hints of brewed coffee, cheese and buttermilk wafted in, whispering sweet nothings to both his nose and his stomach. He hadn't eaten since the night before. He didn't have time to think about that though as a mischief of Pichu bombarded him, nuzzling at his coat.

"Hey hey!" one Pichu said. "A new friend!"

"He's an electric type too! Can we keep him?"

"Big ball of fluff! Big ball of fluff!"

Shine sat still as they patted at him in all sorts of ways, not wanting to offend any of them but needing to tell them to kindly get lost. This sort of attention wasn't exactly something he craved, especially not from a bunch of hatchlings.

"Hey, guys," Curio said, "let me join in the fun as well."

Thankfully, they stopped harassing Shine and moved onto Curio instead, climbing all over her body as she petted them in turn. She seemed nonplussed by the whole thing, or rather, actively solicited their attention, balancing them on her shoulders and arms as she slipped on some non-static slippers by the shoe-rack. He noticed the other human customers wearing the same thing. Perhaps it was to be expected, considering those Pichu were essentially living batteries. Then Curio walked, electric rodents in tow, to the cafe till where a tanned, pudgy man leaned behind it, waving at her with a hairy arm.

"Ay!" he said, "it's good to see you here! Ready for your last day?"

 _"Hell yeah,"_ she said, stroking a Pichu by the ears.

"It's a shame we'll have to find someone else, but oh well, I'm sure my fellas will understand."

 _"Yeah, yeah, whatever."_ Curio glanced at Shine. _"Say, can you fix up somethin' for my pal here? He's feelin' a bit peckish too."_

The man peered over the bar and looked down to Shine, moustache twitching.

"Maybe, but that depends if his kind is lactose intolerant."

 _"O-Oh, er, actually,"_ Shine said, not sure how to respond. _"I've had plenty of dairy myself and I can safely say I've never had any problems with it. Erm, why?"_

The man smiled. "Not to worry, bud. It'll be a nice surprise. But anyway, right this way." He stopped to lift the bar stand and waved at the two, disappearing into the hissing coffee machines.

Shine followed Curio into a private suite room, with a low cut table in the middle and an assortment of colourful plush beanbags as furniture. Just like the main area, the walls were decorated with patterns of Pokemon as well as floral designs. This seemed to be designed for customers wanting to have a more close session with their Pikachu hosts. It wouldn't have been anything to write home about, except for that wallpaper and those beanbags. Floral wallpaper. Colourful beanbags. Why was that familiar to him? It didn't seem anything out of the ordinary, but...

No, he knew why. There were those halls, and those classrooms at GeL, that featured both of them.

"Hey, Shine," Curio said, "you're spacin' out."

"O-oh, yes, right." He shook off that thought and sat on one of the cushions as Curio joined him. The Pichu crowded around her lap, chittering peacefully as she stroked them. She seemed to be quite well known in this cafe. Then, what business did she have here?

"I know you're wonderin' what I'm doin' here," Curio said with a grin.

"U-um, did you just-"

"Yeah, I read your aura. Sorry, invasion of privacy and all, but whatever."

"N-no, it's alright." Shine cocked his head. "For now, I think. But yes, isn't this to do with Barley?"

"Bingo. That bat's been a godsend to me here. He made a deal with that guy you saw back there, he's got mad connections, I tell you, and next thing I know, I'm teachin' human for these guys."

Shine's jaw dropped. "You're a teacher?"

"Eh, not really. Whenever I'm in town anywhere, I just do it on and off if I can find work. Gotta fill my belly somehow. It's better than huntin' or pickin' through scraps to get by."

Shine grimaced. "I know the feeling."

The two laid there for a moment, as Shine didn't know what to say next. True, the warm feeling was still there, but without fully knowing the person beside him, it was of little comfort. That was, until the pudgy man stomped in with two baskets, one filled with an assortment of berries and the other filled with croissants. Shine instantly sniffed at its contents, sampling the sweet and savoury scents.

"Just help yourself to them throughout the lesson. There's plenty to go around."

Before he left, he poured a pitcher of water into a glass as well as a bowl fit for Shine to drink from. With that, the two were left to their own devices. Curio took a few paws worth of croissants and laid some on the floor beside Shine while she attended to hers. When Shine nibbled at the tip of his croissant, he bit into a layer of creamy cheddar. He purred with delight and devoured the rest.

"You like it?" Curio asked.

"Yes, of course. This is stunning," Shine said.

"Right? I couldn't have picked a better place to teach if I tried!"

She took a big bite out of one end and pulled back, dangling a string of cheese from the middle of the pastry. Before she could fully enjoy hers, one of the other Pichu bit the end of it. She didn't struggle though, and let them have that to themselves while she took out two Oran berries, one for herself and one for Shine. They were tender and cold, nourishing Shine with its sweet juices. It complimented the cheesy aftertaste quite well. He didn't have time to linger on it any longer, though, as a lone Pikachu skittered in, looking at Curio expectantly. He had a tiny bow wrapped around him, so he did belong to a trainer.

"Hi hi, Curio!" the Pikachu said.

"Yo," she said, reaching out to stroke his ears. "How's the cafe service been?"

"Eh, good! The humans are so nice to me and the food is delicious, as usual! So, what are we doing today?"

"Well, I guess we could just chill for a bit this time. Yanno, try talkin' in human, and I'll tell you where to go after we finish, okay?"

He nodded.

 _"Alright, starting now. So, you been trainin' recently?"_

The Pikachu tapped his rosy cheek with a thoughtful expression, and opened his mouth to say something, but hesitated, then opened it again.

 _"Little. Trainer in, er- not in building."_

 _"The school?"_

 _"Yes."_

 _"Ah, so she's still getting the tuition, then? I guess your tips have been helpin' with that."_

 _"Yes. Don't know money, but helps. Sometimes, I battle."_

 _"Oh yeah? What kinds of Pokemon were you up against?"_

 _"Street Pokemon. I battle. Mostly lose."_

 _"It ain't easy when you're starting out."_

 _"Feel small. Em..."_

Pikachu stopped, scrunching up his soft, round face.

 _"Em-beer-ess-in."_

 _"Em-barr-ass-ing,"_ Shine chimed in. _"It's pronounced embarrassing."_ Pikachu gave Shine an unsure look, to which Curio leaned in and spoke in his ear.

"I'm not too hung up on that stuff yet," she said. "Just let him speak as well as he can and he'll get it right over time."

"But—"

Curio pulled away from him and continued her conversation, the start of many to come. They talked about things such as what Pikachu's to-be trainer did to earn her license, what friends Pikachu made out in the town square, how he started using Curio's teachings to impress said friends and customers, and a story about how Pikachu ended up being chased by a Purrloin at night and lived to squeak about it another day. Shine mostly sat from the sidelines, feeling a little cut out from the whole thing.

He was still unsure about where his standing was, in the grand scheme of things. Being told off by Curio when he itched to correct the Pikachu's mistakes put him in a tight spot. Then again, why did he care anyway? His friend was there beside him. His friend that, well, he didn't know much about. Shine tried to put that past him, munching on another delicious croissant. And another one. And another one still. At this rate, he would've gobbled down the whole basket, given his affinity for pastry. He felt rather full though, and so, he stopped, yawning with a satisfied drowsiness. Tuning out the chattering students, Shine drifted off into his reverie.

* * *

 **"So, class, we'll be doing tongue-twisters today. They're a very common exercise for humans to improve their fluency, and I believe we should follow their example. Why don't we start with you, Shine?"**

 **"W-what, me?"**

 **"Yes. Sorry to put you on the hot seat, so to speak, but I'm sure you'll do fine. Read out what I've written on the board."**

 **"U-um, er, _neither Bewear or Bi-Bi-Bi…_ sorry. I c-can't do it."**

 **"Hmph, not very eloquent, are you? A human toddler could do that."**

 **"Ahem, Ab, don't be a know-it-all, thank you. Though, try closing your eyes, Shine, and see if that helps. Remember what I told you."**

 **"O-okay. Closing them… closed! _E-er, ahem. Neither Bewear nor Bibarel is a bear wearing apparel or a beaver in a barrel!"_**

 **"Excellent, Shine!"**

 **"Way to go, Sunshine!"**

 **"T-thanks."**

 **"Great! Now your turn, Curio!"**

 **"Okay! _Neever Beware or Beeb-orel…"_**

* * *

Curio gently patted Shine's back, waking him up. He yawned, stretching on his hindlegs as he noticed the Pikachu was no longer there.

"Erm," Shine said, "how long was I out for?"

"A couple of hours or so, enough for me to finish my lesson. I didn't wanna wake ya since you looked so peaceful."

Shine grumbled at that. "Sorry, I didn't mean to drift off like that."

"Nah, it's fine." Curio clutched her remaining arm with her metal one, frowning. "Okay, this is gettin' a bit awkward now. Sit your butt down and tell me what's up."

"O-oh, okay." Figuring things would be better if he maintained some distance from her, Shine sat on the opposite end of the table, so the two faced each other. He awkwardly shifted his haunches, trying to find a comfortable position to no avail. It wasn't going to work. Curio still stared at him expectantly. None of this was normal. The metal arm was the Wailord in the room, of course, but there were still his own memories.

Wait, his own memories?

He remembered another time in GeL, comfortably sitting on those beanbag chairs in a classroom, stumbling through a set of tongue twisters with Curio beside him. She was a Riolu back then. And of course, there was that earlier memory of him reading to her out of comfort. Comfort for what, her mother? What happened? Did her mom…

No, it was still too early to guess at what happened. Shine focused on Curio, trying to read between the lines. There was a slight smile beneath it all, and her tail wagged lightly beneath her. She was clearly pleased to see him too. Her eyes told a different story as they drooped, either squinting to focus on one of his features, or disappointed by something. Was Shine the same person Curio saw him as before, whoever he was? Whatever the case, he had to be honest with her. Shine straightened his back, cleared his throat, breathed in and out, just like Tony told him to, and spoke.

"I, um, Curio. Can I be honest?"

She shrugged. "Go ahead."

"Okay, in that case-" Shine bit his lip, regretting what he was about to say, but going forward anyway- "I don't remember you all that well."

Another awkward pause, but Curio's expression didn't change. Instead, she took a leftover Oran berry from the basket and bit into it.

"Mmmkay."

"S-sorry. It's a bit more complicated than that, though. I know bits and pieces. I used to read to you. I know the book; it was Sinnohan Myths-"

"Anph Fableth!" Curio swallowed, and her face lit up. "Aw, yeah, that was nice. Even though the stories were still kinda weird. Haven't read that in a while."

"I think they've revised it a few times, actually. Removing stories and adding new ones."

"No way." Curio crossed her arms. "Aw, that's a shame. So it's not gonna be like I remembered it, huh."

Perhaps she thought the same of Shine.

"Eh, doesn't matter," she said. "It's not like I can be bothered to read a lot of stuff anyway. The only way you can get me to sit my _ass_ down for much nowadays is if it's a trip to the movies or something."

Movies? That was another part he knew she liked, deep down anyway. He didn't watch many films himself, unless it was the newest Pokemon anime feature. Yet, there was one film he watched for the first time recently about a family of Hippopotas trying to stop Deoxys' meteorite from destroying their house. It was all in stop motion, and even if he didn't know it yet, he thought of a certain Lucario all the way through. He had to say something else to show he knew her.

"Funny you mention that," Shine said, "I saw something the other day that reminded me of you. Do you remember The Hoppas and the Great Meteor?"

"No _crap_ , that's one of my favourites."

"Oh, really?" Shine cocked his head. "Ah, right. I knew you talked about that at one point." As he said that, a melody played in his mind. "Oh, now I've got the theme song stuck in my head. You know, _'they are The Hoppas, hear their call from your screen'-"_

 _"'Ba, ba-ba pam, ba ba-ba pam!'"_ Curio snorted, then cackled like a Mightyena, clutching her mouth in an attempt to stifle herself. Shine had a big dumb grin on his face, and couldn't help but laugh as well. Eventually, they stopped to catch their breath, and the two leaned over the table to get closer to one another.

"Yanno," Curio said, "you kinda remember a lot more than you let on."

"Well, perhaps." Shine sifted through the pieces in his head, only to still find an incomplete puzzle. "Like I said, I know certain things. And, well, even after all this time, deep down, I know we were close. But yet, I don't remember a lot of the crucial moments." He looked to the side, trying to avoid her confused gaze. "After everything that happened, I…" He felt like choking on the next few words. "I… I- God, I can't say it."

"It's fine." Curio leaned back, cradling her legs in her arms. There was another moment of silence. The Pikachu and Pichu chuckled outside, and the coffee-shop jazz played in the background. Yet, the conversation took them to an entirely different place.

Ripped wallpaper. Broken lampshades. That arm. Those screams. Her screams. Wait, why-

"Hey, let's change the subject." Curio chomped on a Leppa berry this time around. "You said we were close, right?"

Once Shine gathered himself, he straightened his back again. "Well, yes. My heart doesn't lie."

"Well, you also said we'd stick with each other through thick and thin, once. Do you remember that too?"

He tried to sift through the jumbled pieces again, but couldn't find a definite answer. "Perhaps."

"Then, why'd you leave me behind?"

Those words stabbed into his gut like a sharpened bone club. He sifted through the pile again, and still found nothing. His heart quickened. He stood up in a panic and leaned forward, trying to pry some answer out of Curio's expression. It changed from sunny to expressionless, maintaining a poker face even as she chewed that piece of fruit.

"W-what are you talking about?" he asked.

She gripped the berry harder, squirting a bit of juice from a part of the core. "So you don't even remember."

"O-of course n-n-n, no-" He tried to speak, but it all rushed back to him, turning his stomach into lead. He sputtered on those words before getting them out there. "W-what did I do? Please, Curio, tell me!"

She shrugged with a huff. "Doesn't matter."

"Yes it does!" At this point, Shine dug his paws into the floor, trying his best not to scratch it up. "That's what I came here to find out! I didn't come all the way to Dendemille without my trainer for nothing!"

Curio crushed the Leppa in her paw, smooshing it to pieces. That made Shine flinch.

"Your trainer?"

"Y-yes. What's wrong with that?"

"Are you kidding me?" She stood up, pointing a claw at him. "After all you did, you just bent yourself backwards for a human in the end?"

More silence. Shine breathed in and out, parsing his thoughts, but also trying to calm himself down. Everything hurt again. No. Not another episode there. He looked to Curio, trying to get something out of his old friend. Something to reassure him that she didn't mean what she said. And yet, there was still nothing but that blank stare. Those eyes that said nothing, yet said everything at the same time.

You did something, and this is your fault.

You betrayed her.

You were better than this.

Shine whimpered as his eye misted up. No, he couldn't tear up like this, not this time. He had to be stronger. Stronger than this. Curio, say something!

She opened her mouth, then closed it, starting, then stopping. All the while, the fingers on her metal hand twitched mechanically, clicking with each micro-movement, then abruptly stopped. It balled into a fist, then, Curio ran to the back exit with her bag in tow, not even shutting the door.

She was gone. Wait, he couldn't let her run away. Without hesitation, Shine ran after her. Curio wasn't even running; just power walking down the alleyway as she dribbled a can down the pavement.

"Curio!" Shine shouted. "Where are you going?"

She stopped, but still had her back to Shine.

"Away. I ain't comin' back to this stinking town." She started again, getting further and further away from his grasp.

"B-but wait, I- I…"

Something bubbled inside of him. The episodes. The cold shoulder Curio gave him. Couldn't she see he was struggling? The words he was about to say felt like hot coals on his tongue. Even though his eye stung from the tears, he had to strike while the iron was still hot.

"You're the only one I know from GeL that can help me now!"

Curio stopped again, though she remained silent. Shine breathed in and out, holding back all the pent up aggression inside of him. Yet, he had to say it while his emotions were still fresh.

"I-I'm lost. I've got no one except my trainer to help me. He can only do so much." He took another step forward. "Every day, I wake up, not wanting to get out of bed. I hate it so much. But I- I don't know what else to do with myself." Another step forward. "I-I need you in my life."

There. He said it. Whatever he felt towards her, however subconsciously, that cemented it for good.

Curio's body shifted. At first, it was just a little turn of her body. A pat on her messenger bag. Then, she turned around, face full of contempt. "You know what you're askin', right? After all this time, you just want me to come waltzing over to fix you, after everything you did?" She let out a hollow chuckle. "Don't be selfish."

His fur bristled with static energy. "W-wait, that's not it at all!" He stumbled on his words, forcing himself through the pain. "My trainer, he-he's doing a documentary on GeL."

She raised an imaginary eyebrow. "Is he really?"

"Yes, but, well, he's stuck. Everything's so hazy to me. That's not enough to get to the bottom of what happened." He was holding back tears again. "Not while, while I'm like this."

Yet more silence. Except this time, Curio cleared her throat. Her expression softened, revealing a sad smile at the corner of her lips.

"Come with me," Shine said. "I know what I'm asking is perhaps too much. But, I want to know more about you. And what I did to upset you before. It would be a shame if we never saw each other again after this."

Curio grasped her head with her free paw, metal hand still twitching on the side. It was as if she was typing on an invisible keyboard. Then, she stopped.

"Okay, I'll bite. On one condition." She stepped forward and knelt down to Shine's level. "Fight me."

That came out of nowhere. It was enough to snap Shine out of his stupor, at least. "W-what?"

"You heard me. _Hell_ , let's make it a bet." She pointed two metallic fingers at him. "If you win, I'll come along with you. I'll talk about whatever you want. What I did, what GeL was, and what happened there."

"B-b-but-"

"But…" She trailed off, then planted her metallic palm on the ground. "If you lose. I'll leave. Meet me at this town's battle park in an hour. I'll be waiting. Don't follow me."

Shine was stunned into silence. He stepped forward, trying to reach out to Curio as she disappeared into a passage from the alleyway, but stopped himself. All these memories, as well as the responsibilities they left him with, weighed down on him like a Rock Tomb. He took another set of deep breaths, in and out, in and out, to manage them all. That's what Tony suggested whenever he dealt with those episodes.

He still missed him, even from so far away. His hand brushing against his fur, his soothing voice. Just like he had said to Curio, he was lost without him. But he would want to see him get better. Deep down, Shine sensed it was getting to his trainer, too. Having to get him out of bed every day, having to maintain all that excess fur, as well as the hazards his electrical powers brought him. Raising a Pokemon was hard enough without all the emotional baggage Shine brought with him. If he was just an obedient Pokemon, bending himself backwards for a trainer, like Curio said, would he even have those thoughts to begin with?

No. His only worries would've been where his food bowl was, or what his training would entail, or what Pokemon he'd get to battle next. Not worrying about how much time passed while he was still lying still, or how the world would fix itself, or when the next news about his therapy session's status would arrive.

Perhaps that was the price to pay for being human.

* * *

 **Chapter 4 Patchnotes (11/02/20):**

General description and dialogue expansions throughout. The second half of this chapter, however, has gone through the most changes. It includes a flashback from GeL to highlight one aspect that should've been there earlier on, and the scene from that point onward was rewritten to mostly dialogue between Shine and Curio. This is to shift focus away from the less important one-shot characters like the Quilladin/Leafeon in the previous draft and to expand on the dynamic between the two as well as Shine's struggles with his memories.


	5. Dendemille's Brawlers Part 2

Shine stayed in that alleyway, unsure of what to do. How much time had passed? A few minutes. Maybe ten. The clock was ticking for him to prepare and face off Curio. But it had been so long since he had his last fight, not counting that close call before. Or Claws call, as it were. Without the experience of a standard Pokemon battle, or at least, that he could recall, he wasn't sure of what to do with himself.

Then, something whistled through the air. Shine was certain he had heard it before, but when a purple blur whizzed by and landed in front of him, that clinched it for him. Barley was there.

"Yo!" he said. "Er, where's Curio?"

"She went off in a huff," Shine said with a sigh. "It's a long story."

"Ah, great." Barley frowned. "I tell her to wait up and she bails on me."

"Well, uh…" Shine struggled to find the right words for it, but eventually pulled himself together. "She challenged me to a fight later, at the battle park, wherever that is."

" _Dayum._ Some baggage then, eh?"

"Yes, you could say that." He glanced at his feet. "Though what I did, I don't really know."

"Eh, she can be weird like that, but…" Barley's eyes lit up. "Oh! Don't you need to practise?"

"That might be a good idea, but it's in an hour, and, well-" he looked to the side- "I don't have anyone to spar with."

Barley stepped in, putting a claw on Shine's shoulder. "Then in that case, I'll help."

Shine rose at that. "R-really? You don't have to if you're busy."

"Eh, who cares? My trainer's doin' his thing, so I have time." He winked. "I might even tag along for the fight."

Shine paused, taking those words in, then returned his offer with a smile. "Thanks."

Barley had taken Shine to a play area, separated by a fence, where trainers were free to either take a break or spar with their own Pokemon. The fact that Shine and Barley were the only lone Pokemon there attracted some attention, but aside from that, the two battled as they pleased.

Well, battled in the loose sense, anyway. Barley set himself up as target practise while Shine focused his electrical energy on shooting small jolts. It had been a while, so starting with his elemental bread and butter seemed to be a good strategy.

As it turned out, Barley was fast. Very fast. On the first few jolts, Shine got nowhere near hitting his target, shooting sparks several meters away from the Gligar who danced in the air.

"H-hey," Shine said with a huff, "can't you slow down a little?"

"I'm goin' as slow as I can," Barley said, clinging onto the wire mesh, "any slower and my _ass'll_ be on the floor."

Shine grumbled at that. Not so much at Barley, but rather, himself. He had to have fought some battles well enough if he was already a Luxray. He couldn't have been that clumsy. Or was he? No, he was simply rusty. There was another memory that lingered on.

"Give me a second," Shine said.

"'Kay."

He closed his eye, focusing on that particular spot in his mind. His thoughts were a blackened cluster, with the occasional bright spot here and there. Zoom. Enhance. Wait, this wasn't a cop show! Why was he thinking about this? If only Tony hadn't flicked that on the other day. No, focus, dammit!

Shine was a Shinx again. He was alone in a soft room, one fit for sucking up electrical powers and he was shooting sparks at a Hitmonlee dummy. He was even worse than he was now, not even conjuring up sparks without knocking himself flat on his behind. He was a pathetic Shinx. He was a pathetic… No, wait, that Shinx picked himself up. That Shinx bared his little fangs. That Shinx focused, and, with one decisive spark, hit his target on the head. The zap only manifested as a tiny brown dot, but that was proof enough that he had made his mark. Then, a Manectric walked in, scowling at him. The Shinx looked back.

 **"Aren't you proud of me yet, teach?"**

No, not yet, get out of there. He was training in the present, not dwelling on the past. Shine opened his eye and nodded at Barley, ready to continue sparring.

The minutes flew by as the Gligar weaved to and fro between Shine's projectiles. Before, it was miss or miss, but now, it was hit or miss. Despite Barley's speed, with Shine's persistence, he was able to hit him with increased accuracy. The same went for close combat as well. While Barley dove in like a jet, Shine adapted by dodging out of the way or countering with electrified claw swipes. Weak enough that it didn't do lasting damage, but strong enough that it made an impact.

With each blow they traded, Shine's confidence grew. Not entirely the Luxray he was supposed to be, but at least it was a start. The more he fought, however, the more the question arose in his head: would he be able to fight his friend? Even if she should've been a stranger to him by now, their connection was still there, however strained it was.

Before Shine knew it, it was time. Barley had taken notice, and so, swooped down to his level, panting all the while. In turn, Shine stopped to catch his breath.

"Hah," he said in between gasps of air, "gotta admit... didn't think... all this flying... would tire me out so soon."

"Same," Shine said, "I'm really… out of practice."

The two stood there for a moment until they gathered themselves, then Barley was his usual perky self.

"You said she was at the battle park, right?"

Shine nodded.

"Well then, I'll take you there." Barley grinned. "While I'm at it, I'll have to treat you to an Oran berry or somethin'!"

Shine's eye widened at that. "O-oh no, you don't need to, I just ate."

"Nonsense! I mean, you wanna be up to speed for fightin' her, don't you?"

"Ah yes, good point."

Barley waved his claw in the air. "Well then, I'll lead the way."

Shine nodded and followed Barley out of the mock fighting area. After Barley bought a pair of berries for them to share, Shine chomped it all in one bite while Barley nibbled at his.

"I guess you don't have those killer jaws for nothin'."

Shine gulped down the last of the juice and cleared his throat. "I'd hardly call them killer…"

"Yeah, course not. So, I guess you two have a history together. Don't suppose you want to talk about it?"

History. That meant talking about GeL. He didn't particularly want to talk about what happened there, not that he remembered most of it. And what he did remember, well…

"N-no." Shine stopped, glaring at Barley. "I'm sorry. Not to be rude, it's just…" Shine ground his teeth. "Just… sorry."

"Nah, it's fine." Barley shrugged. "Guess it's somethin' you gotta figure out yourself, right?"

He mumbled a reply. There was a pit in his stomach again. It wasn't the berry, but rather that familiar feeling when he came across his memories. Like in that PokeStop, he hated not knowing, but here, he hated not being able to talk about it. Only to Tony, and even that was limited. He couldn't lose that with Curio. Then, who could he really confide with? Tears formed again, but he wouldn't cry. He had to say something.

"I hate this," he spoke in a lower tone. When Barley revealed his surprise, Shine sighed, looking away from him. "Not being able to talk about it with anyone, I mean. Without her, or my trainer, I have no one." He turned around, barely able to face the Gligar anymore. He wasn't even sure if that was entirely true. Maybe Bauble as well, but-

"I feel ya." Barley patted Shine's rump with his claw. "I know what that's like, for sure. Kind of why I wanted to run a PokeStop to begin with. I can't even imagine what you're goin' through. Sounds like some messed up _shit_ happened."

Shine mumbled again. He guessed it was natural to start a club, in order to meet new people. Though he couldn't really guess at Barley's past, there must've been a time when he was still young and unsure of his own path. Doubly so since he was a Pokemon. But if Barley started a club to help with that, then, what if...

"So," Barley said, "what happens with Curio's fight? I know she's moving town soon, so, yeah."

Shine turned around at last, facing Barley. "If I win, Curio will come back with me. If not, well, she won't…" He wanted to add 'and I'll be alone again', but faltered at the last line.

"Well, look, for the sake of argument, let's say you lose and you have to turn tail back to Ambrette. If that happens, then at least you can talk about it with me, just so you aren't alone."

Shine's face lit up. "Oh, you mean-"

"The forums and Diancord servers, yeah. We can meet up later so we can exchange contacts, but right now, we've gotta get a move on, so…" Barley extended his claw. "Whaddya say?"

Shine stared at that claw. He couldn't believe what he was asking, that someone would go out of their way to be so friendly with him. He wasn't that deserving of it, was he?

No, he had to stop thinking like that. He might not have deserved it, but he needed it. Finally, Shine took Barley's claw and shook it. "I'd like that very much."

So there was the battle park, in all its fenced and overly elaborate glory. Even though Dendemille's park was smaller than the others in the cities, being a midway point between two gyms, it still accommodated a lot of people. As Barley walked him through its different facilities, Shine spotted many trainers, vendors, campers, food trucks and a variety of big Pokemon hanging around. The glimpses he saw of the arenas had lines of Pokemon and their trainers waiting for their turn so they could step onto the playing fields. Shine spotted eight in total.

However, out of the eight, it was easy for Shine to pick out which one was his, and what he saw further tangled the knots in his stomach.

Dozens of people sat on the bleachers circling the arena. With each step he took, the crowd grew louder, and he was eventually faced off with the long, straight path that led to the battle area. Who else would be there but Curio, doing various warmup stretches in the centre of the stage?

Shine's heart pounded. Once he stepped into the arena, there would be no going back with so many people watching their match. It was all or nothing.

"Well," Barley said, "good luck. I'll be cheering you on."

Shine couldn't help but chuckle, releasing some of his pre-battle tension. "I, er, do appreciate it."

Soon enough, Barley swooped over to a seat of his own, right next to the Lucario and trainer pair from earlier, sharing a bucket of popcorn. So, they were watching too. He already had expectations to fulfil, then. Shine took a deep breath, and padded over to Curio as the audience watched him enter from afar. Try as he might have, Shine couldn't ignore the presence of the crowd Curio gathered. The knots pulled taut. When he approached Curio, she didn't look him in the eye, only staring at the referee, who looked back and forth between the two.

"Are your trainers with you?" he asked.

 _"Who said I needed to bring a trainer with me?"_ Curio said.

"Ah, you talk," he said, stone-faced. "And what about this Luxray?"

 _"Um, I left him at home."_ The referee scratched his head before shrugging it off and turning on his speaker mic, making feedback echo in the arena.

"Trainers of all ages, we have a very unique match lined up for this slot. This is a one versus one match, but neither of these Pokemon are present with their trainers here. This isn't the first time it's happened in this park, so I've heard, but it's been a while since we've gotten something like this." He presented a slip of paper from his pocket.

"Going by an educated guess, this Lucario over here is named Curio, and this Luxray over here is named Shine. Since this is a special case, we might as well go over the rule-"

 _"Cram it, old man,"_ the Lucario said, tossing her bag aside. _"I get it already, four moves, no lethal stuff and all that, okay?"_

The crowd went silent. In turn, the referee just coughed and threw up his hands.

"Alright, you seem to have it under control." The announcer headed to the podium on the far side of the stage, overlooking the two. "If there is any foul play, however, I will have to call it off early. You'd do well to remember you're more responsible for your powers without a trainer."

 _"Yeah, I know, I'm not stupid."_

The other Lucario in the crowd shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"Alright then," the referee said. "Now, if you two could take five paces back-"

 _"Excuse me,"_ Shine called, raising his voice a little, _"can I have a word with Curio before the match starts?"_

"As long as you're quick." With that, Shine approached Curio, who glared at him.

"Do we really have to resolve things this way?"

"There's nothing else I wanna say to you right now. If you don't like it, get bent."

"Why, I'm, I'm—"

Curio raised a paw in the air, motioning to the announcer, and she took her five paces back. Defeatedly, Shine followed suit, the words of Curio still stewing in his mind.

"Pokemon, ready."

This was it. No matter what Shine tried to say, there was no way Curio would back down in this fight. A lump grew in Shine's throat. He exhaled, then took a deep breath, readying himself by standing on the tips of his hindpaws. If Curio showed this much resistance, he needed to push back just as hard with all he had, if he was to get back to Ambrette with her and get a grip on his past. After everything Curio put him through so far, however, Shine briefly considered if all of his efforts were worth it. And what about that metal arm? Wouldn't she have an unfair advantage over him?

Before he dwelt on it any longer, the whistle blew.

Curio immediately dived towards him with a kick. Just short of being grazed, Shine leapt backwards, avoiding the first sweep. Then the second followed. He barely dodged by ducking his head. Then the third, rolling to his side. Yet, it was harder to see with all the dust being kicked up everywhere. Things weren't going to change at this rate, so-

Shine sprinted away from Curio's range, running as fast as his legs could carry him to the other side of the arena. When the dust cleared, Curio was far away from him, but charged forward as soon as she recovered. He ran faster. She did too. Her footsteps got louder as she approached. Backing away all the time wouldn't have worked, so he needed a more direct line of attack.

Shine made a detour to his left. He swished his tail around, charging up his static field, and the more he ran, the more his fur prickled. His electricity buzzed around him, acting like invisible armour, and at that point, he had stored enough potential to pull off a Volt Tackle. Shine turned and ran towards Curio, who stopped suddenly. She held her paw in front of her, firing a flurry of aura spheres at him. Most of them bounced off his field, but once he was close enough to her, all she could do was shield herself as he tackled her lower body.

Bash. Curio flew across the arena, stopping short of hitting the partition that divided the crowd. The reaction was a mix of gasps and cheers.

Shine's whole body shuddered with the recoiling force of his attack. At that point, however, the two were a fair distance away from each other. If he could land another hit with a Thunderbolt close to Curio's stomach, he could stagger her, taking her out of the match. He shook his head and started charging his static field again.

Curio rose to her feet. In no time, she lunged towards Shine again. He did not flinch. He focused his mind on where he would hit Curio, just below her spike. Just as his charge reached its limit…

"Come on, you coward, hit me with all you got! Don't run out on me like last time!"

Like last time? Oh, no-

In his haste, he shot a thunderbolt, only for it to divert away from Curio's body, and the ground absorbed the shock. As much as he tried to focus, his mind blocked itself off again. No, why here? Why now? No, think about something else, not that, not that. Wait, him and her were running from something. Someone. Many different people. What, there was-

Crack. One well placed metal uppercut to his chest sent him flying above the partition. Where he landed, he didn't notice, but something must've broken beneath him.

It hurt to breathe. All sound faded. All the charge he built up had released. His vision started to fade as well. Was he able to move at all? He twitched his legs. They were still mobile. One paw after another, he got to his feet. Although he could barely see, the yellow coat stood out in the background. He tried to hobble towards her from the other side. Each step felt like wading through thick mud. Yet, he continued on. He had to. He needed to prove himself. Eventually, he was close to that yellow body again. Her face, however blurry, came into view. Her eyes were just as scornful as ever.

Then, Shine's legs gave way as well. What would happen next? He didn't know. Somehow, he knew one thing: he had to apologise. He was on the verge of remembering what he had done, and before he entered that slumbering void, he uttered two words:

"I'm sorry."

* * *

 **"C'mon, we're almost there! We can do this, we can make it! Don't stop for a second!"**

 **"I know, I can see it, I can see the door, I can- Argh!"**

 **"Shine? Shine! You bastards, stop chasin' us and leave us be! What else are you gonna take from us that you haven't already?!"**

 **"Curio. There's too many of them. I can't, I can't stay here."**

 **"Shut up! I don't wanna hear it, we'll make it outta here, both of us, we'll take them all on! Don't give up!"**

 **"I'm sorry. I, I, I..."**

 **"Wait, Shine! Come back here! You said- Shine!"**

* * *

The world snapped back into focus. Shine was back at the Pokemon centre with that familiar treatment bay and its clinical smells. And beside him was Curio, staring down at him.

Right, Shine lost the match. And with that, a huge block in his memories broke down. So that was it. After all the time they had spent together, however distant, Shine had left her behind at a critical moment. And so, in his half-awakened state, he connected the dots. Something happened back at GeL. They had to escape. They were confronted by a certain group. Their faces were all blocked out, including their Pokemon, but he remembered something metallic. Then Shine escaped without Curio. Then, the car came. But, what happened to Curio?

After all that searching, his journey led him to this path, where he carried the full weight of his actions for the first time in five years.

"Curio," Shine said with a sigh, "I-I'm sorry. I, um, e-e-escaped without you back then." He gulped. "I, er, I've only j-just remembered it now."

"Shine," she said. That word, or rather, the way she said that name, stabbed a spear of guilt into his gut. So that was it. She wouldn't be coming back, and he wouldn't get any answers. Who was he kidding, thinking he could get her to come along with him? He didn't deserve anything, no answers, no happiness. This realisation brought mist to his remaining eye.

"And, and, I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough, and, and-"

Shine broke down. His cries echoed in the room, blubbering and choking on his own words, attracting attention from the other resting Pokemon.

"Oh, why am I being s-so s-s-stupid?" he stuttered in between sobs. "I shouldn't be crying like s-some weak S-S-Shinx, but here I am!"

"Shine," Curio said, scowling.

"No, it, it's fine, you fought hard for your freedom. You shouldn't let s-s-some other stupid Pokemon tie you down. I-I-I-"

Curio smacked Shine across the face, snapping him out of his ramble.

"Jeez, Shine, the match was a sham! It didn't even matter if you won or lost, so get a hold of yourself, mon!"

Shine stopped sobbing, though tears still poured down his cheek.

"W-what? Then what was the point of this?"

"I dunno," she said with a shrug, "I just wanted to let off some steam. I feel better now we've fought."

"What now?"

"Nothing yet, we'll see where the evening takes us."

"Right." Shine tried to jerk his paw away from Curio's grasp, but he couldn't bring himself to break away from it as she squeezed tightly. Then, she sniffled, rubbing away a few tears of her own and wrapped herself around him, close enough for her spike to touch his chest again.

" _Shit,_ you're gettin' me choked up now."

"Sorr-"

"Stop it." She slowly rubbed his back, moving her paw in a circular motion. "I hate seein' you like this, without your memories and stuff. But you're still you. Your aura's the same, your eye's the same, if it wasn't for- ugh. It's just cruel."

Shine took a deep breath and buried himself into Curio's coat. It still smelled of mud and stale sweat, but it was comforting nonetheless. He pulled himself back a little so he could speak without being muffled.

"I-I don't understand. I lost. I betrayed you. Why-"

"Look." She pulled herself away from him, making eye contact with Shine. "You did something pretty _crappy_ , there's no denyin' that. And I might've gotten a bit too into that fight." Curio glanced at his ribs.

"Th-they're fine," he said.

"Okay. Still, there's more to it than that." She darted her head left and right to the nurses and the patients in the room, who gave them weird looks. "And I ain't talkin' about it in this stinkin' room, so, c'mon, let's scram."

She was about to stand up when-

"Wait," Shine said. "I'm still not sure about this." He sniffled, rubbing his eye dry. "Why even give me a chance after all this time?"

She sighed and gave a half smile, scratching Shine's ears. "You're still my sunshine. Besides, after so long, I'm not lettin' you off the hook that easily."

With one final wink, Curio stood up and Shine followed after her as she left the centre. As he did, there was a warmth in his heart that carried him through the dusk of Dendemille's streets. The town had a new ambience without the claws. Instead of empty streets, there were people walking out from bars and chatting idly outside. Pokemon playfully ran across the pavement while Shine tried to move out of the way. They didn't even bat an eye at him not having his collar with him.

Eventually, Curio gestured to a patch of grass amongst a park-like area and the two sat opposite each other, face to face, backs to trees. Her green eyes looked just as bright as they did last night.

"Okay, I've gotten a bit of my baggage out of the way." Curio scratched her chin. "If I'm honest, I wouldn't have blamed ya for doing that, since, c'mon, there were lots of grunts, so it was kind of fight or flight, wasn't it?"

"From what I recall, yes." Shine frowned. "It still doesn't excuse what I did." He bit his lip. That question burned on his tongue, of what happened to her after he escaped, and was the main source of his regret. Did they… What else did they do to her? He was about to ask that when-

"Doesn't matter. You've said you're sorry, so I just wanna bury the spike with that."

Shine decided to save that question for later. "Alright."

"I do wanna know one thing, though."

"What exactly?"

Curio scratched her head. She started to speak, then stopped, and finally moaned as she laid down on the grass. "Why a trainer? You know, I kind of hoped you'd make it on your own, wherever you were after you escaped. Maybe make a living off of writing books or somethin'. You had the drive for that sort of thing; not following some _dumbass_ trainer around on his stupid quest to gain a bunch of trinkets like a pet."

Shine rose at the mention of the word 'pet', and when he processed exactly what Curio said, he glared at her.

"I'd rather you didn't talk about Tony like that," Shine said. "You don't know what me and him are like."

"Actually, I think I do." She threw her arms up in the air, still lying down. "It's like, you had all the time in the world to do anything with your life, yet, you took the safest route. After all the cool stuff you learned back in GeL and, well, ugh-" she sat up, knitting a set of invisible brows -"it's not like you remember. After you escaped, I just didn't want to feel you were wasting it on some human's dumb dreams."

Each word stewed in Shine's gut, bubbling and gurgling. "Wasting it?" Those words were like hot coals on his tongue. He breathed in and out, trying to suppress his emotions. Any more and he would've lashed out. So finally, he sighed. "Is that what you think I've been doing all this time?"

Her eyes widened at that. "No, I mean, being with the trainer-"

"That's enough!" Shine shouted, standing up on all fours. "Trainer this, trainer that, it doesn't matter! If it wasn't for him, I still would've been on the streets!"

She gasped. "Wait, you were-"

"A stray, yes. I know what that was like, and back then, all I wanted was to lie there and rot. No one bothered to take me in until I met Tony, and even then, nobody forced me to be with him!"

"But what about your own dreams?"

"Look, if I had any, he would let me pursue them anyway. And besides, this GeL business has taken over my life, and each day, I can't do anything about it. You think I'm going to pretend that never happened?"

That seemed to cut deeper than he expected. Curio cradled her legs, squeezing her knee with her metal hand. "N-no, but-"

"But nothing. I hate to say it, Curio, but that's a really close minded way of looking at things."

Curio held herself in that defensive curl for one moment longer. Her eyes glazed over, either bored or trying to parse what Shine said. He couldn't tell. Then, silence. Shine expected her to say something back, but she turned away from him, lost in her own world. He was about to say something to get her back into gear, but she turned back around, facing him with heavy eyes.

"Sorry."

It sounded sincere enough. While there was still that air of uncertainty behind it, that apology was all he needed. Shine sat back on his haunches and sighed.

"No, that's- just, what I mean, it's tough being on your own, especially as a Pokemon. I thought you would've understood, since you seem so worldly."

"I do." She took a deep breath, fiddling with the strap of her bag. "It's just, well, I did the same thing once. I went with a trainer, thinking they'd just provide for me the easy way. I didn't even need to be trained, I just didn't wanna be in the wild anymore when I first escaped." She let out a hollow chuckle. "How stupid I was. They kind of did care for me, in their own way, but at the same time, I really, really, really hated it."

Considering Barley's abusive trainer talk, he didn't like the sound of this. Even without those memories, somehow, a part of him already knew she didn't want to end up with a trainer back in GeL.

"W-what happened?"

"Eh, long story. But, to make it short, after I left, I learned just how much I missed being on my own in the world. I made a lot of new friends. I saw a lot of cool places, ate a lot of good food. And, lookie here-" Curio sifted through her bag and pulled out a sculpture of a Smeargle holding out a rainbow-tipped tail -"I made a ton of new figurines. Even got this guy here to help improve my craft."

Shine stared attentively at Curio, or rather, the curio she held out. It was another crude metal sculpture, except covered with various splotches of paint and other hardened materials to make it look more colourful. Just like with the Magikarp, the handiwork was rough, but it had a certain style to it. Despite his misgivings earlier, he was still impressed by it.

"That's great!" he said, then squinted at the Smeargle's round face. "He looks familiar."

"Eh, I'll save that story for another time too, but thanks!" She stowed him away and zipped her bag back up. "But point is, I wouldn't be doing all of this if I was still with my old trainer. And honestly, I'll die before I ever go with one again."

She held her metallic fingers up to the moon, which glimmered in its twilight, before she made a fist, as if catching it. "When I left them, from that day on, I swore I was gonna live my life the way I wanted to. If anyone, trainer or not, wants to take that away from me, well, they can suck it."

Shine took a moment to soak in those words. It was great to hear her so sure in her own path, so much so, he would've turned green eyed himself. Still, he needed to resolve the Tony issue while the topic was still fresh.

"Well," Shine said, patting Curio's lap, "if you're worried about Tony, I can assure you I'm not being mistreated at all. He practically lets me do anything I want while he's out at work, and makes sure I'm well provided for when he's back home, even after long hours. He doesn't tie me down at all, so I'm sure even you would like him."

Curio smiled and snaked her arm, which was cold to the touch, through Shine's back.

"I guess I would. I mean, I still think you could be doing better, but as long as you're happy, that's fine. I just don't want you to end up the way I did before, just gettin' nowhere in life."

Shine sat still for a moment, not knowing how to respond. Still, he came to an understanding, even if he had to agree to disagree. Then, Curio sighed.

"I guess I've been kind of a _bitch_ today, haven't I? Sorry for makin' you go through that dumb fight."

"No, no. It's fine. I know why you felt that way now." Another pause. Then, the inevitable question came up. "So, what happens from here?"

Curio pulled him in gently, eventually putting Shine's head on her lap as she brushed through his mane. "Well, needless to say, I'm comin' with you."

"You are?" Shine would've stood up to express his surprise, but the sensation was so… indescribable that he stayed there. "I do appreciate it, but are you sure? You seemed like you were heading out of town before I came along. Sorry if it seemed selfish."

"Well, yeah, it kind of did, but really, I just wanna help you out. Not just for your memories, but for me as well. You said you never talked about it with anyone else aside from your trainer, right, whoever he is?"

"Yes." His tone softened.

"Yeah, well, I feel ya on that. I don't wanna get into that too much, but you get the picture. So, I'd benefit from this as much as you would. You can count on that."

Shine sighed in relief, feeling that warmth in his heart again.

"Thank you," he purred, under the influence of Curio's ear scritches. He forgot about time for the moment as he lost himself to the soothing rhythm of Curio's paw. It would've been a perfect moment.

Only for something to rumble into his ear. It was Curio's belly.

"Oh," Shine said, startled by that sudden outburst, "excuse you." Then his own stomach followed.

"Excuse yourself," Curio said with a toothy grin and stood up. "Well, we gotta get some grub somewhere. If Barley's still at The Vine, I'm sure he'll lend us a claw or two. Saves us having to hunt or steal."

"They do dinner as well?"

"Sure they do." She lent her paw to him. "Now c'mon, are you with me?"

He paused to consider this as his heart rate spiked. This was happening, though it didn't feel real. After his betrayal, he wasn't sure if he could bounce back. But no, whatever he did was in the past. Shine smiled and returned Curio's pawshake.

For her to put that aside and be willing to help him out in a time of need, well, she felt like a true friend. This was what he'd been missing all that time.

* * *

 **Chapter 5 Patchnotes (11/02/20):**

More dialogue and description tweaks. There's a new scene at the beginning where Shine spars with Barley, giving more insight into Shine's trauma with a brief flashback to GeL. It's generally the same throughout, but one new aspect has been introduced with Curio having past baggage with a trainer. It's been a part of her character from the beginning, but wasn't introduced before, so I decided to put it in earlier to make her viewpoint towards trainers a bit more empathetic. The old ending scene of the previous revision has been moved to chapter 6 instead.


	6. Dendemille's Riders

It was a lively scene at The Vine. Both locals and touring trainers alike crowded around the bar, chatting and smiling with beers and sodas in hand. Much to Shine's chagrin, as he walked through it all, the carpeted floor was sticky with its spilled contents, not to mention how noisy it was for his sensitive ears. Curio guided him around as she picked out Barley's aura, eventually finding him stood on the bar counter with his trainer sat beside him.

"Yo!" Barley said, holding out a claw for her. "Is Shine alright?"

"Yeah, he's fine!" Curio spoke up amongst the crowd and squeezed through there along with the aforementioned Luxray. In turn, she bumped her paw against Barley's claw. His trainer did the same, and Curio leaned in to do it at first, then pulled it back, blowing a Razz berry.

"I'll catch you out one day," the trainer said.

 _"I'd like to see ya try,"_ Curio said, leaning against the counter. She gestured to a barstool beside her and Shine jumped up on there. He fit perfectly despite his size, though it creaked underneath his weight. He hoped he wasn't getting fat. Anyway, Barley was just about eye-level with him, so he reached out to ruffle Shine's mane.

"That fight was pretty hardcore. Good to see you're all patched up now."

"Yes, I guess so." He would've flushed red if he could. Even if the whole fight was a sham, getting made mincemeat out of in front of a crowd wasn't the most desirable of memories.

"So, I guess this is our last night here," Barley said, looking to Curio.

"Yeah, I'm headin' back home with this guy." She patted Shine's head, a tad too hard, if he was being honest. "We've got stuff to settle together, so we're goin' to Ambrette tomorrow. You're in debt to a bunch of dragons, right?"

"Er…" Shine told her about it on the way there. "Yes, I'm teaching for a ranch. It should be my first human speaking job in a while."

"Oh, really?" Barley batted his claws together. "That's cool! It sounds like things are looking up for you, then."

"Hmm, I hadn't really thought about that." All things considered, these past two days were the most hectic he'd experienced in a while. Yes, it would be nice for Curio to tag along. A part of him also knew, however, that the troubles had just begun. Talking about his past, his tutor, about GeL in general, and what happened would be taxing for certain. And teaching again to a bunch of Pokemon much bigger than him; at least before with that Bunnelby, it seemed a lot less intimidating. And it was tomorrow. What if he messed up? What if-

Curio nudged his back with her elbow. "He's thinkin' a mile a minute again. You wanna give him one of your pep talks, Batty?"

"O-oh." Shine spluttered. He still wasn't used to Curio reading his aura.

"Yeah," Barley said, "you kind of look like you're about to hack up a hairball there."

"But we don't-" He cut himself off. This wasn't the time for useless feline trivia. "Well, yes. I'm just thinking, if it's tomorrow, I don't really know how to go about doing it." He kneaded at the barstool's spongey material. "The first time I taught, I had a plan, but here, obviously, I didn't have time to come up with one."

"Ah, that's no problem. Curio just wings it, doesn't she?"

She nodded.

"And besides," he said, looking to his own trainer, _"any effort we make to try and teach other Pokemon the human language is better than none, isn't it?"_

"Damn straight." He took a swig of his beer. "Those bigwigs in the government have their thumbs up their asses. You'd think they'd start teachin' this stuff sooner if everyone else's ahead of the curve."

 _"Not gonna happen,"_ Curio scoffed. _"They don't give two shits about what we do."_

 _"H-hey,"_

Barley interrupted, _"I agree, but I don't wanna lose hope, y'know. I heard they're doing something in Galar, so they might bring that everywhere else some day."_

Shine rose at that, flashing back to a certain tidbit he read on the news. _"Yes, right, Galar's doing an apprenticeship programme for Pokemon, aren't they? And their government's funding that!"_

 _"Yup."_

Curio crossed her arms. _"And we can't do jack about it cuz' we're not allowed there."_

Everyone else hummed, bringing the conversation to a close.

"Anyway..." Barley put his claw on Shine's shoulder. "If you're in a pickle, well, message me or something. I take it you have some sort of equipment that lets you type back home, right?"

Shine nodded, thankful for his trainer's computer.

"Well, like I said, if you ever feel alone or need someone to vent to, I'll be there." He winked. "Just don't be afraid to get in touch."

The feeling Shine got from that was unexpected. He had quite a few friends on the forums and Diancord, but none he had really met in real life. Here, for someone to be so open to that, well, it warmed his heart up again. He would've pulled Barley in for a hug if he was allowed to climb up the counter, and he wasn't usually the one to give hugs out. The two exchanged contacts from there, with Shine's username on both platforms being 'Congress-Of-Dunsparces', named after one of his favourite books, and Barley's being 'ChildishAudino'. What he got that from was beyond him, but it sounded familiar somehow.

"So, what now?" Shine asked. "Where will we stay?"

"Eh, just stay in the PokeStop for now," Barley said. "No one's gonna use it over night, so the place is yours. Just check out whenever you feel like it."

"Works for us," Curio said with a grin. From there, they talked the night away, which gradually came to a close as Barley's trainer had too many drinks and he had to be escorted back to his room upstairs. The duo wished them goodnight and farewell, if they didn't happen to meet each other in the morning, and settled down into their own room for the night. As soon as they entered the Pokeroom after hours, they turned the lights off and crashed on the pile of cushions.

At first, they said nothing, but they still enjoyed each other's company, nuzzling close to one another for warmth. It had been a while since Shine felt that sensation. After a moment, Curio started snoring with her paw wrapped around Shine, and he expected himself to follow suit. And yet, even after another moment, he couldn't sleep. Not because he didn't want to, as he could've slept like a Shinx with all the previous excitement of the past two days behind him, but there was still a little something nagging at him. He was away from Tony for another night, and even in the company of a friend, he longed to be home. And he was still worried of what would happen when Shine eventually came back. What would Tony say? What if he-

"Boo," Curio whispered. That took Shine off guard, but nevertheless, he rubbed his eye and yawned.

"I thought you were asleep."

"I was. Your aura's way too loud. Tony this, Tony that, I don't wanna hear it."

That made Shine peer his head out from the cushions. "Sorry, Curio," he whispered back, "but can you tone down the aura reading? It's a little invasive."

"Ah yeah, I'll knock it off. Or maybe I won't. I dunno." She let out a mighty yawn, one louder than even his. "But if it'll shut you up, I've got a surprise for you tomorrow."

"You do?"

"Yeah. It's not a gift or anythin', but I'll think you'll come to like it. But you gotta keep your strength up for it."

Shine only half-considered it. If he wasn't half-asleep, it would've been a full consideration, but in his tired haze, he was willing to go along with it for now. "Alright. Good night."

"Ni-ni, sunshine."

* * *

The two slept well into the afternoon. The Gligar/trainer duo were apparently out into town already, so there was nothing else except the surprise waiting for Shine. Curio told him to walk up the mill and look out for her. However sceptical he was at first, Shine trekked up the hill again and waited until his companion popped up, lugging a big shopping cart. He blinked a few times before realising the nature of the surprise.

"You can't be serious."

"Of course I am! I've done this many times before and I've turned out fine!"

Shine narrowed his eye at her. "Where did you get that from anyway? You're not supposed to take them!"

Curio blew a Razzberry in response. "Who cares? Everyone takes them anyway; it's not like they're short on carts or anythin'."

Shine grunted and looked to where the hill headed down a steep incline. He couldn't believe he had to pause to consider this. If Curio found fun out of this, that was fine by him, but he didn't know if his poor heart could've taken it. Then, to delay it, something else stuck out in his mind. "Why this though? I don't know where you'd learn to go cart sledding."

"Well, that's a long story too, but that's not the point really. You see this all in front of you?" She pointed her metal arm at the expanse in front of them, with all the town's buildings, the greenery around it, and the sunny skies above. "That's what's out there. All those people and Pokemon are just going about their business, and we're in the middle of it all. It costs nothin' to ride down a hill when you're free. No trainers to boss you around, no humans tellin' you what not to do, no Pokemon telling you how you should act in front of other humans. That's what I live for. You see what I mean?"

Shine cocked his head, staring at the countryside. It was the last time he would see Dendemille, possibly in a while. Not that he had any rose-tinted memories to look back on, but if he was going back home, he might as well have had something to remember this by. Finally, he smiled, turning towards the cart.

"Yes. I think I do."

"That's more like it."

Shine stumbled into the basket and landed on his back, fumbling around in it until he sat up, with his tail poking through the metal mesh below. He looked at the slope once more. This was going to be a steep ride at the very least, if there wasn't anybody else in the way. His pulse quickened, regretting it already, but before he could protest, Curio pushed the cart downhill. In his reflex, Shine grappled onto the rim of the basket, holding on for what felt like dear life.

"I didn't even say I was ready!" he shouted.

"Didn't need to! Hold on!" Curio dumped her bag behind Shine and stepped onto the rail. The cart felt weightless, as it went at a steady speed on the straight path at first. Once they reached the slope, however, they shot downhill. Both of them screamed. Curio sounded joyful. Shine didn't. In fact, the speed reminded him all too well of Adele's dragon riding, not helped by the bumpy wheels which sent vibrations ringing through his body.

They were about to approach a dead end, where their only salvation was a sharp turn on the left.

"Get ready for this!" Curio shouted.

"Wait wait wait wait wait wait!"

Curio shifted her weight to her right, crashing Shine against one of the mesh wells. It still looked certain they were about to crash, but just in time, Curio gripped the handle with her metal arm, making the cart turn a full 90 degrees.

He couldn't believe what he experienced. After that turn, anything she would do next would be mundane in comparison. As they headed down the straight downhill slope again, Curio howled in the air, and in turn, Shine roared alongside her too. This was terrifying. This was filled with uncertainty, with all its peaks and valleys. This was... fun. Just like life.

 **[End of The Chase Arc]**

* * *

 **Chapter 6 Patchnotes (11/02/20):**

Features a new scene with Curio, Shine and Barley at a bar with a different context, as well as little tweaks throughout the chapter.


	7. Interlude - Ambrette's Teachers

The time eventually came for Shine and Curio to leave Dendemille on dragonback, with Adele and Accendare. When they finally touched Ambrette's soil, however, Shine had to rest. Although he didn't vomit like last time, the nausea still caught up with him and wouldn't let go any time soon. Oddly enough, to him at least, Curio didn't seem affected by it, only resting to catch her breath as one normally would after being exposed to the elements. She recovered once she adjusted to ground level again, and stood over Shine, blocking his view of the sky.

"C'mon, you big furball. Do I have to drag you up to your feet?"

"You don't have to stay if you don't want to wait, this is my business."

"I know, but I can help out too. Just don't leave me hangin'."

Shine staggered to his paws, still dizzy from the ride, but gradually, he got a grip on the world around him. The rider undid Accendare's equipment and handed them to the assistants who took it to the barn. After she was done, Adele smiled at Shine.

"Well," she said, taking off her helmet, "ready for your first lesson?"

" _As ready as I'll ever be,"_ Shine said, not entirely convinced he'd do an outstanding job at it.

"Great!" She looked to the fields and gestured to the swampy area far away. "You'll probably wanna know where he's at and why we're teachin' him. We've been doing these lessons from last autumn all the way up to here so far. He can do short sentences, and his pronunciation's alright, but he has to break most words down bit by bit to be able to say them, which makes him sound kind of flat. His grammar's fine, though, so on the whole, I'd say he's reaching into an intermediate level, though I'm no expert. He doesn't have to be amazing; he just needs to sound a bit more natural, y'know."

So that seemed easier. At least he wouldn't be having to teach from scratch.

"And for why we're teachin' him, well, someone's interested in him being a therapy Mon, so that would be a nice skill for him to have."

" _A therapy Mon?"_ Shine repeated. _"Well that's… interesting."_

" _Might as well be going to a goo spa,"_ Curio said.

"Heh, I know," Adele said. "I mean, Goodra are well known for being friendly, and people are lookin' at new ways to bring them out of combat, so, yeah. Whatever works for me."

That was certainly news to him. If there was ever the chance of Shine going to that clinic in Coumarine after all that waiting, would he see a Goodra there? But that seemed to be enough to go on, except for one thing.

" _What about his teacher?"_

"Unfortunately, he and Petri don't get along well, but I'll let him speak for himself."

" _And is it alright if Accendare joins us?"_

"What, is she interested as well?"

The Dragonite nodded.

"Well, you can as long as you can do some extra work tomorrow for the Postmon service." Adele gave her an appreciative pat on the side. "Aside from that, I don't see anything else I should say. Just feel free to report to the house beside the barn once it's sunset. You'll see Petri over at the muddy pond. Oh, and feel free to take a break when you should, just so those two can get some exercise."

" _Alright, thank you."_

" _Gotcha."_

With that, the two headed over to where Adele had pointed. Along the way, Shine kept thinking about what exactly he'd do, and if he was even needed to be there in the first place. But perhaps it was best not to look a gift Ponyta in the mouth. It would help him as much as it would help them. And so, they reached the bog where Petri, another Goodra and a pair of Goomy swam. When he spotted the duo, he leaned out of the muddy pond and waved over to the group.

"Hey, Shine! Are we starting now?"

"Of course. Curio will be helping out as well. She is—"

"Very pleased to meet ya!" she said, waving a paw. "I'll be takin' over just in case Shine makes you fall asleep!"

"I was about to say she is my friend, but that works too." He gestured to a flat patch of grass. "Shall we sit over there?"

Petri nodded and the two dragons followed behind Shine and Curio to sit down opposite them. Accendare sat away from where Petri was dripping goo into a puddle around him. Shine looked at them both, wondering how he'd be able to teach both dragons at once. Though it was best to jump into Petri's story first.

"Well," Shine started, "let's start by finding out more about this situation. Adele told me you're being taught by a human at the moment."

He nodded.

"And she also tells me you two don't get along very well."

"Yes, well…" Petri paused, looking glumly to his side. "He isn't the most agreeable human on the earth. He shouts at me a lot, only because I talk the way I do. I don't think he gets that we aren't used to speaking in growls and cries. He just thinks it's easy."

"Well screw him," Curio said. "Why didn't you just tell that guy he was being an _asshole_?"

Petri winced, a little put off by that human term.

"I wouldn't use that language to describe him. I wanted a better teacher, sure, but I didn't want her to make a big deal out of it. She has enough work as it is maintaining all of us. Going through the extra effort to find a Pokemon to replace him instead would be a waste."

"Not if he's not doing his job!" Shine stepped forward, a little swept up in the conversation. A part of him was insulted by what Petri described. If teaching was such an easy thing to do, then why hadn't every Pokemon in the world learned to speak human by now? Nevertheless, he stepped back and took a deep breath. "Alright, let's think about this. It sounds like you've been learning long enough for you to get past simple sentences, even from human to Pokemon. How has he been teaching you so far? Do you at least know which sounds go into each words?"

"Well, nothing advanced like that, I just play it by ear. All he does is read aloud from a book aimed at human children learning to talk and tells me to go through each exercise. It gets the job done, I guess, although it kind of makes me feel like a hatchling again."

"Ah, I see what the issue is now. You have a bad teacher."

"I do?"

"He doesn't explain the basics and expects you to skip to sentences already. It's not just bad, it's inefficient. Me and Curio learned a lot more in the time he taught you the simple stuff. Does he even know how our own language system works?"

"I dunno. He just told me it didn't need explaining."

"It depends, but it helps to understand how to properly transition from Pokemon to human speech. But, let's backtrack here. Have you ever stopping to think about how say we say words, and how humans say theirs?"

"Well, kind of. The more I think about it, the more it confuses me."

Shine took a deep breath. It would've taken a little bit of explaining to do, but thankfully, from what he did remember from GeL, he took away some nuggets of truth from the language lessons. He could do it there; he had done it before with that Bunnelby.

"You see, we don't start off understanding human speech right away. However, we're able to pick up on it fast with enough exposure, and depending on what environment we're raised in, but how exactly we're able to do it is still a mystery. What separates us from humans are the sounds we use. Really stop to think about what sounds you're making when you say a word like 'hello' in your own tongue, then what sounds are used when you say the same thing in human. Listen to me, for instance."

Shine let out a friendly purr, which was what it sounded like to the untrained human ear.

"What did that sound like?"

"Oo-arr-or."

"And in human."

Shine greeted Petri in the same tone of voice, except in human tongue.

"Now, what did that sound like?"

 _"Hell-oh!"_

"That's right! There's a lot more I could get into, like syllables, phonemes and such, but it depends on what you want to learn at first."

"Just how to speak faster. The other stuff sounds more complicated than I'm used to."

"Don't worry, it was complicated for me at first. But anyway, we can start, and whatever I'll have to explain, I promise not to make it boring for you. If it's too much, we can take a break. How does that sound?"

"I'm still a little confused, but I can manage. To be honest, you sound like you know what you're doing more than that human."

Shine gave a hard look at Curio, who had fallen asleep with her bag tucked under her head like a pillow, but brushed aside her sloth and continued with Petri. "I'll have to see that for myself. The important thing is that you're learning faster already. This will be good for you too, Accendare, since this is the sort of thing I started out with as well." Shine grinned. "Now, let's put that into practice, shall we?"

For the next couple of hours, Shine broke down the fundamentals of speech and gave Petri and Accendare brief definitions of linguistics, and worked through some of Petri's problem areas such as his monotonous speech patterns. Petri was more engaged in the lesson than Accendare, who listened attentively but only contributed to the conversation occasionally. If anything, Shine got the feeling she was bothered by something given how silent she was. But aside from that, it stirred up something within him whenever he heard Petri improving his own speech. Despite his worries earlier, he was finding it fun. Why didn't he do this more often? Now thoughts about starting his own Pokestop or learning service really were stewing in his mind.

The only dampener on it was Curio, who snored through the entire session, so loudly and conveniently placed whenever Shine talked that he suspected she was doing it on purpose. When Petri suggested to take a break, Curio woke up herself without any help.

"What're we doing?" she said, stretching her paws.

He just relayed what Petri told him.

"Yeah, um," Petri said, "how long is long enough, would you say? I'm no good with minutes."

"Depends on what you want to do."

"Okay, how about a few games of Dodge?"

This was a simple and efficient game to play as a Pokemon, as it involved dodging whichever projectiles came somebody's way. Curio obliged but Shine opted out at first and stayed with Accendare, simply watching the two trade blows with each other as Curio threw aura spheres the size of tennis balls at Petri, and he threw globs of slime at her in return. Both were light on their feet, even Petri who was twice the Lucario's size. Not that Shine particularly enjoyed sitting out when others were having fun, but there was something about the Dragonite that nagged at him.

Accendare started picking daisies with her claws, and Shine inched closer to her, shifting his attention back and forth between the game and the delicate Dragonite.

"Is it alright if I call you Accy?"

She shrugged, whilst she tried to put together a daisy chain with her tiny claws.

"Well, Accy, I just want to make sure everything's alright. You've been mostly quiet, after all."

She nodded with a faint frown.

"I was curious, why did you decide to join us? You must've had something good in mind if you wanted to speak human."

"Of course. I want to be able to talk to Adele."

"Sounds fair enough." He laid down on the grass. "Was there anything you wanted me to relay to her, though?"

After fumbling around with the chain to little success, Accendare broke it apart.

"No, it's something I have to do myself. I'm not sure you'd understand, not that anyone does."

She stayed silent afterwards, staring off into the distance, deep in thought. Shine wasn't quite sure how to react to that. What she said struck him as sullen, and her tone suggested it was an issue she wanted to keep to herself. That was understandable; he knew that feeling very well. Still, if there was anything Barley taught him, it was that it was worth reaching out to his fellow Mon. It was at times like these that he wished he had Curio's aura capabilities. Sometimes, the embrace of a fuzzy Pokemon was just as good as a mind-reader though, and so, he leaned towards her belly.

"Listen, I know as well as any Pokemon you're entitled to your secrets, but if there's anything on your mind, feel free to tell me."

She clasped both her paws together and hummed to herself. "Maybe… later. Thanks for thinking about me, though."

Then splat! All of a sudden, a glob of slime hit Shine in the face, coating him with the gooey substance. It didn't hurt, but his heart rate quickened when it hit him, and jerked his body to the play area to see who was responsible. It wasn't Petri who did it, but Curio, who waved a dripping paw in the air.

"C'mon!" she said with a toothy grin. "Join us!"

He laughed. Since he probably needed a bath to clean the gunk off, he figured he might as well join in the fun anyway. Shine started to walk over to them when he noticed Accendare still didn't move.

"Are you staying there, then?" he asked. The Dragonite nodded and waved a paw in their direction, giving them the go-ahead. From then on, Shine had a few rounds of Dodge, using weak jolts of electricity as his choice of weapon and placed last twice, falling victim to Curio's aura once and to another goo glob from Petri. He would've needed an extra long bath to get rid of it all at that stage, but he didn't mind. It had been so long since he had played any sort of game like that, so it was a nice change of pace.

Without Shine needing to lift a paw, Curio declared it was time to start the second half of their lesson. They returned to their circle, but Curio spoke first.

"I wanna try something different, with none of the theory crap this time."

Shine was about to say something in reply, but closed his mouth again. It was pointless trying to argue with her since she seemed to set on things.

" _So, speak as well as you can without stopping, and don't worry if you get a few things wrong on the way. Tell me what you dragons get up to in this place."_

 _"Oh."_ Petri rubbed a wad of goo together with his paws. " _We train, like any Pokemon, but we have diff-er-ent skills. I can not fly, but I can fight. We prepare for a long time. When we are ready, we are for sale for a trainer."_

" _You're goin' into therapy, though, aren't you?"_

A nod. _"Yes, hopefully. If it helps, then I am glad."_

 _"And what about the other dragons? It would kinda suck if any random jerkwad bought them and treated them like dirt."_

" _Our carers do not let them. They need a good record."_

" _Still, they didn't ask for this, did they?"_

" _They do not mind. Some come from wild. Others, born here. Was with humans as a Goomy. Most do not know the world like me."_

" _Just like…"_ Curio mumbled beneath her breath. _"Nothin', carry on."_

Shine had a hunch about what she meant, with what he remembered of GeL.

" _Good trai-ners have in-ter-est in them. If they are kind to them, then that is e-nough for them."_

Curio crossed her arms, looking thoughtfully at the sky. Shine sensed it was starting to get personal, with what she said about trainers before. But finally, she shrugged and carried on. The following conversations were more cheerful as Curio mostly asked about Petri's other activities in the ranch and his friends, and only mentioned vague details about herself when Petri asked her questions of his own, as she mentioned hearing about a few dragon ranches in Sinnoh. Shine sat in the background, but let Curio go on as he could see she was encouraging Petri to speak. To occupy his thoughts, he considered what he would do next time to help Petri progress further, like bringing a chart to write on, for instance. While it was a similar feeling to when she taught that Pikachu, just idling away the time, he preferred teaching as a duo.

Eventually, the sky became a blood orange with a bright ball of fire sinking into the horizon. That was time enough to end their shift. The ranch followed suit as the majority of the Pokemon in the fields joined an organised line, which Shine tried to piece together. A slimy paw tapped his shoulder which drew him out of the scene.

"Feeding time's about to begin soon, so I think that's all for now. Thanks, Mr. Shine and Ms. Curio."

He would've blushed if he could. It was the first time in a while somebody addressed him so formally, let alone a Pokemon.

"You're welcome." Shine bowed. "I hope to see you again soon."

"Me too!" Petri winked before charging into the open field to join the rest of the dragons. Another set of heavy steps plodded behind uneasily, belonging to Accendare who hadn't joined the rest of the group yet.

"What's wrong?" Shine said.

Accendare's eyes signalled over to the barn, lips creased into a frown.

"Um, you two might want to head to the house soon. Feeding time gets a little, um, violent."

The duo's expressions didn't change, although there was a mutual understanding of what the situation was.

"Um, thanks, you two. I think I, um, learned a lot."

"You're welcome too. Feel free to join us any time you like."

She nodded and sat down, staring at her feet. Something in his gut told him this was a situation he'd rather not witness, so he dismissed himself and nodded to Curio, who caught up with him and padded through the open area on the way to the farmhouse's path. While they walked, Curio absent-mindedly picked at her ears with a tiny piece of Bone Rush.

"Did you notice something odd about Accendare?" Shine said.

"Nope." She tossed the waxy swab aside. "Nothin' at all."

A part of him wasn't convinced by Curio's tone, but felt no need to press further.

"Must be my imagination."

When they arrived, they faced the back of the barn, alongside the path which forked into two at each side leading to the house. They chose the one on the right and on the way there, they passed by two members of staff who lugged around two wheelbarrows full of Pokeballs. Shine couldn't take his eye off it until they were out of his sight, knowing full well what purpose it had, but Curio didn't bat an eye. They were livestock Pokemon specifically bred for eating, fattened up in both body and mind until they were essentially walking entrees. Though he knew it wasn't something to be changed, just the thought of what went on in those factories sickened him. Not sick enough to forgo dinner completely, but still uncomfortable.

Once they were in the house area, which was connected to the back of the barn, a pleasant symphony of various cooked meats sung in the air and Shine's stomach responded with a tune of its own. Despite the carnage about to unfold outside, he put those morbid thoughts to rest in favour of finding out where the scent came from. Up a small flight of stairs beside them, a door stood ajar leading into the kitchen where various aproned staff worked. Shine's paws moved on their own, but he controlled himself as any sane person wouldn't have let any Pokemon waltz into their food storage. Curio, however, didn't hesitate to make her presence known as she took the first step up.

"We can't just walk in there!" Shine called.

"It'll be fine, just follow your nose!"

She strutted into the house as he followed, desperate to convince her to come back outside. When he came in, he was surprised to see the staff hadn't sicced their Pokemon on them or raised their knives in self defence, but rather, they continued working quietly, dicing up steaks and adding them to the stew pot on a flame-fueled stove. Only one person faced them and even he seemed pleased to see the two.

"You the two new teachers everybody's raving about?"

Shine nodded in reply and the man smiled, pointing to the door on his right.

"Dining room's past there. The missus will be down in a jiffy; she just asked to see you two fed for your work today."

Curio cast a smug look that said 'told you so'.

" _Oh, thank you sir."_

"No need to be so formal. Go on, what're you waiting for?"

The two headed to the dining room, and once they opened the door, it revealed a chaotic gathering of various people of different ages, including the two assistants from before, all seated around one long table. Oddly enough, it didn't fit the entire length of the room as there was still a bit of space left after the table ended, after which an unused smaller table sat perpendicular at the end of the room. When their presence became known among the group, an elderly man shakily raised his hand.

"Come here, you two." He spoke with the pleasant weariness of old age, and the duo stood beside his wheelchair at the far end of the table.

"Yes." He peered at them with sunken eyes. "Such an interesting couple you make. Adele told me you two fit each other."

" _And you are?"_ Curio asked.

The elderly man leaned in closer, cupping his ear. "Terribly sorry. Can you repeat that?"

" _I said, what's your name?"_

"Sorry, one more time?"

" _Who are ya, ya old fart?"_ she shouted, and at last, the man leaned back, taking in Curio's comment. Shine shot a severe look and nudged her, but as revenge, she punched his side.

" _Ow! Forgive my friend's manners, sir."_

Cutting the tension short, the old man heartily laughed, only to devolve into a cough.

"Not to worry. I know I've become a bag of bones as of late. Strange. A Pokemon comes up to speak to me in a language I understand and I have to tell them to repeat it. My ears must be cursed."

" _You don't seem terribly surprised to have two speaking Pokemon before you."_

"No, no, I've seen a few speaking Pokemon during my career as a rancher. For some jobs, it's a necessary skill for dragons to possess if team communication is important with their trainers, something not many people value even to this day, sadly. My daughter will tell you as much."

" _So you're Adele's father?"_

"Indeed. You can call me Remy." He smiled at something behind them. "Here she comes."

Another door swung open and out came Adele, dressed out of her ranching gear, revealing her long flowing hair as it swayed behind her dress. She entered, holding what appeared to be an instrument case, and smiled at the scene before her.

"Nice to see you gettin' familiar with pops. So, how'd you two get on?"

" _Rather splendidly, I think,"_ Shine said." _Petri seems very thankful to have me as a teacher. Accendare's finding my teaching interesting too."_

"That's swell to hear. It sounds like you did a great job, so I thought I'd have the boys fix you some grub in return."

" _I'm very thankful."_ He bowed. " _It really wasn't necessary, I'm the one in your debt after all."_

Curio punched him in the side again, eliciting a grunt from him.

" _Don't mind him, he's too humble for his own good."_

"He's just polite, that's all. But to tell you the truth, we usually make a ton of food during dinner, so what's left over gets chucked into the field for the dragons to have as a snack before settling down. Not that they don't get plenty of food as is, mind you."

He thought back to the stash of Pokeballs being wheeled to the farm and winced. Part of him wanted to ask what sort of Pokemon were being fed to the dragons there, but that went without saying. Instead, he looked over at the case in her hands and changed the subject.

" _What's that?"_

"Oh, this? Her name's Tawny." She opened it, revealing an accordion with a scuffed up wooden finish. "My pride and joy."

Shine's mouth made an O. Not exactly what he was expecting, but it was a nice surprise. _"Oh, so you play accordion?"_

" _No, Shine,"_ Curio scoffed. " _She uses it to beat people to death."_

Adele laughed, tracing her hand over the keys. "Well, there are definitely a few people I'd like to use that on, but yeah, I've been practising on Tawny ever since I learned to walk. Maybe not that long back, but you get the picture. Course, I don't find as much time for her now as I did back then, but a couple of hours a night does me good."

"You should visit her some time in town," Remy said. "She's usually at The Krabby and Co. on off days."

"Yup, but for tonight, once everyone's had their fill, I'm gonna play a few songs. Maybe we'll get some people in to dance, so you're welcome to join in."

Dance? Had he ever danced before? Wait, why was he asking this? He couldn't walk on only his two paws, so the answer would've been a resounding no.

" _Sure, I'm up for it,"_ Curio said. _"Maybe I can teach Shine a few moves."_

" _W-wait, what?"_ he said. _"B-but I—"_

" _Being a quadruped shouldn't stop you."_

" _Did you just read my mind again?"_

" _I might've."_ She stuck her tongue out. _"But you can peep on guys through walls while they're naked, so bite me."_

Adele laughed as she sat by her father, holding his wrinkled hand. "Looking forward to seein' how Pokemon dance."

Not long after, the cooks entered the room wheeling in trolleys of trays containing everyone's meals. They served the humans at the tables first, complete with tankards of beer, then tended to Shine and Curio as they laid two trays on the floor. Both of them consisted of a bowl of cassoulet with a few slices of baguette and a water bowl for them each, except only Curio's contained cutlery. Shine bowed to them and sampled the ingredients of the stew, filled with beans, slices of skin and tender meat that had a tangy taste to it. If Shine had to guess, it belonged to a Flaaffy, which was probably being served raw and alive outside.

He shrugged it off and ate quietly, while Curio shoved spoonful after spoonful in her maw and chewed rather noisily. Once everyone in the room was done and had enough time to digest their meals, Adele took the instrument out of her case and tested it out, attracting their attention. She started with a few scales, slowly, but surely building herself up. It sounded aged, as the bellows croaked with each movement, and the sound wasn't as sharp as it could've been. That was assuming Shine himself knew anything about music. Still, the age was part of its charm, and Adele managed to coax each sound out of Tawny with ease as if it was brand new. As she hit the last note, she smiled.

" _You're good,"_ Shine said.

"I'm only just gettin' started." Seemingly satisfied, Adele climbed to the table at the end of the room and kicked her shoes off. In turn, some of the other patrons in the room stood up and went in pairs to the space between the two tables. "I'll start with a lil' Galarian number called The Nickit's Slip Jig."

It was a waltz number, as the people danced to the tune of three beats before changing their moves. Everyone here was clearly used to Adele's songs, and twirled with just as much confidence as her playing. Even Adele spun along to the rhythm. Finding the energy contagious, Shine thumped his paw as he watched all the activity, focusing on one particular human couple who joined hands and stepped in time with the music. It seemed like they were having a lot of fun. Shine briefly considered joining in, standing up, but ultimately stayed in that spot. How would he keep up with them? Then the next verse came, changing key slightly, and… Curio was there.

She joined in, dancing on her own at first, completely lost to the music. Then another human offered his hand, and she gladly took it, moving with the same grace as she did on her own. That was surprising. Where did she learn that move? No, he had to find out. That time, as it changed to the next verse, Shine went up to Curio, about to ask.

"C'mon, Shine!" she said. "Dance!"

She grabbed his forepaws, making him stand up. The tempo slowed, allowing them to get close with one another.

"How did you learn to dance?" he said.

"Boredom, I guess." She swayed left to right, slow enough for Shine to pick up the pace. "I'm no expert, but if there's a dance goin' on somewhere, then I want in. So I learnt as I went along."

"Isn't it uncomfortable?" His own legs were wobbling. "With your hindpaws, I mean."

"Eh, you get used to that. Now—"

The song shifted back to its first verse, playing at a faster tempo once more. As Curio's moves became more erratic, Shine's own movements became unsteady, barely keeping himself balanced on the pads of his paws as Curio jerked him up and down. She must've had a lot of strength to keep him upright, at least, but each time Shine fumbled, he mis-stepped, getting trodden on by Curio's paw. She groaned, but tried to adjust, allowing Shine room for more error. That didn't work, as he still mis-stepped and got stepped on. Multiple times, in fact. He was making a fool of himself in front of the humans. This wasn't getting fun anymore. In fact, it seemed to be a repeat of… wait, he couldn't remember. It was connected to GeL somehow, he knew that much, but what situation there involved him dancing?

Finally, the song stopped, leading to a round of applause around the room. Shine went on all fours again, feeling rather deflated.

"I think I'm going to sit this one out from now," Shine said.

Curio knelt down to his level. "Suit yourself."

And with that, Shine sat out, watching the rest. The next song played on while Curio danced with the group, and a few songs after, everyone had tired themselves out. Curio seemed to mingle naturally with the humans, which struck Shine as odd, given her attitude towards trainers. He would wait for an explanation later. From there, the excitement of the dining room dwindled, everyone collected their plates, and it was back to business for Adele as she put Tawny away.

"Alright, nice one, you two," she said with a smile. "Come back two days from now at ten sharp, y'hear?"

They wished her thanks and left the house at last. The crisp night air brought Shine some peace after the initial excitement. Through Curio's eyes, the night might have still been young, but through Shine's single eye, he'd had enough for that day. He just hoped it didn't put any distance between them.

"I dunno if you remember, but that brought me back as well," Curio said, stretching her arms. "That was a nice night. Shame you didn't join in."

"Well, I did," Shine said, a bit more curt than he would've liked. "Sorry, but you know it's hard for me. I can't just suddenly break out into dance like you can."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it, no biggie." As much as she deflected it, there was something else to her tone that Shine couldn't place. To distract himself, he looked around him, remembering the dragons were still there. As far as he could see in the darkness of the ranch, the Pokemon behind the fence were all sleeping soundly in their respective spots. There was something that caught him off guard: the livestock. Even without his golden vision, he could see something else strewn along one patch of grass. Something… red.

"Jeez," Curio said, tapping Shine's back, "you've been thinkin' about those feedin' Pokemon all night. It's normal, and it's not like we can do anythin' about it, so let's just move on, okay?"

"I know," he said, even though his stomach felt uneasy. With one final sigh, Shine turned away from it, looking to the path back home. "Let's go, then."

* * *

 **Chapter 7 Patchnotes (11/02/20):**

Minor tweaks in description, plus more of a motive behind Petri's desire to learn, and most importantly, a new dance scene at the end. This is in place of the old dance scene in chapter 4's previous revision.


	8. Interlude - Ambrette's Subjects

With food in their bellies and a half-day of work behind them, the two headed back to Tony's apartment. Although Shine wasn't entirely sure how to retrace his steps in the night sky, his golden vision helped guide him back to civilization. Once he got back to the city, the walk home was easy.

He led the way to the second floor of the apartment complex, leading to a balcony area connecting to the entrances of each apartment, and stopped after reaching Tony's door. Dread washed over Shine as it was the first time he had ventured alone on such short notice, and didn't know how Tony would react to his departure.

"Wait here," Shine said, "I need to talk to him first."

"Do what you gotta do."

Shine took a deep breath and entered, since it was already open. As he came in, the smell of cooking oil drifted through the air, along with a symphony of sauces and other spices. It was stir fry night for his trainer, evidently. The radio was playing too, and Tony was singing along with it. He had a nice voice, as usual. Even when all of that added up to bring a homely feeling, Shine still hesitated to approach him, just hanging beside the kitchen door. Deep breath, in and out. He had to take responsibility for his actions. And so, he slunk over to the kitchen and there Tony was, hunched over the stove in his shorts.

" _Er, hello,"_ Shine said. Even though his trainer wasn't looking, he bowed out of courtesy. "S- _Sorry for leaving."_

Tony turned down the radio and smiled, waving over to Shine with his free hand as the other stirred at the wok.

"That's alright," he said, "I'm not going to scold you for going out. Sure, I could've done with a bit more notice, but I'm glad you're back."

Shine sighed with relief. Hearing Tony's reassuring voice again took a bit of pressure off of the past few days, and he curled up beside his trainer's legs, waiting for his hand to stroke his head. He did so as Shine purred affectionately, lost in the moment.

"Where did you go, anyway?" Tony said.

" _Dendemille. There was someone I-"_

"Ah, yeah, yeah, Ines gave me that paper. She said you were raring to tell me, though I was really busy that day. So, was that the same Lucario you talked about before, that friend?"

He didn't even need to respond to that. As with a lot of things, Shine mentioned a Lucario in passing, though memories were still vague. But Tony knew what Shine knew.

" _She's waiting outside, actually."_

When he heard that, Tony stopped, put the frying pan to one side and turned to Shine, wide eyed.

"Wait, you brought her here?"

Shine smiled, and Tony hugged him, abandoning the dinner for a moment. "Oh, terrific! That's great news! Is she just visiting? What is she like?"

" _You'll find out soon enough. I told her about the documentary, and she wants to help."_

"Ah, perfect! Hold on, I have an idea..." He jerked his head from one place to another. "Where's my kit?"

" _It's still in your studio."_

Tony rushed to the other side of the apartment and came back towing his camera case. He shakily opened it and assembled it in front of Shine, putting the camcorder and the zoom mic together. "How did you get her to come all the way with you from Dendemille, anyway?"

It wasn't something Shine wanted to worry Tony about since he had been inches away from needing a seeing-eye Pokemon to follow him around.

" _Long story."_ Shine glanced at the front door. " _Can I let her in already?"_

"Yes, sure, there's just something I want to try." He looked up at Shine with a glint in his eyes. "I want to get one of those shots where someone's walking in for the first time. Doing it that way would make it seem natural instead of just rehearsed, you know."

Curio probably wouldn't have been happy being made to wait, but if it was necessary for Tony to film her reaction, then she could've bore another minute alone. Not that he actually knew too much about shooting documentaries in the first place. And so, Shine nodded, and led Tony to the front door, who walked towards it with the REC button pressed.

"Can you open this for me?"

Shine nodded and stood on his hindpaws to pull on the handle, which opened to reveal... nothing. Nothing but the railing and the coast behind it. Wait, where on earth was she? Shine rushed out to see where she was, before giving his trainer an exasperated look.

 _"U-um, hold on a second."_

Shine turned on his golden vision and realised Curio had wandered off to another side of the floor for whatever reason, staring out the other end of the complex. What was she doing there? To catch her attention, he roared and she took the hint, walking back to where she came from. And there she was again, in front of him and his trainer.

" _Didn't realise how nice the view was from up here_." It would've sounded happy were it not for her scowling expression. " _So, you're Shine's trainer, huh? Took you long enough."_

"Yes, sorry about that. I'm Tony." With his other arm free from the camcorder, he outstretched it for a handshake. "It's wonderful to meet one of Shine's friends at last. He's been-"

" _Are you recording me already?"_ Curio pulled back, baring her fangs.

"Yes. I thought it would be a good shot to—"

" _Look, shithead,"_ she yelled, wagging her paw at him, _"you can't just film me like some safari Pokemon, so turn that camera off before I cram it up your ass!"_

Shine covered his mouth, trying to process his reaction to that. His trainer, a shithead? Why, he-

"Sorry," Tony said, pointing the camera away from her. "I got a bit excited, that's all. I didn't mean any harm."

She sighed, crossing her arms. " _Whatever, can I come in now?"_

"Absolutely." He backed away and she stormed through the hallway. Both of them stood in stunned silence as the Lucario huffed in the living room.

"That could've gone better," Tony said, clicking the camera off.

" _It's not your fault, really, I should've warned her."_ Shine shook his head in disbelief and looked to his trainer. " _I'll deal with her while you finish cooking. Hopefully, I can talk some sense into her."_

"Alright, thanks." With that, the human made his way to the kitchen, and Shine padded over to where the curious Lucario was, who poked at the various oddments on Tony's desk. He leaned over to get a good view of it all, though he knew it quite well already. There were the standard work documents, as well as various ornaments depicting several different marine lifeforms, but what caught Curio's interest was a framed picture of Tony and Shine together with the conservation centre's crew.

That was a good day, since it was the first time Shine had set foot into Tony's workplace. His trainer took him for a guided tour from the aquarium to the conservation centre, he introduced Shine to all his work chums, and it gave him a good idea of the efforts Tony went through to save some of these Pokemon. The day when they brought in an injured Kingdra stood out to him the most. Although Shine had to keep his distance for that Pokemon' safety, given its type, Shine got to see it unfold in another room with the cameras. The way Tony acted as cool as a cucumber, even when the Kingdra thrashed about in the water in its panic, left an impression on him. He only hoped Curio saw the same way as he did.

With that, Shine patted her leg, turning her away from the photo.

"Sorry about that," he said. "I should've asked you if it was alright for him to film."

"Oh c'mon, that's not the point."

"Then what is it?"

She huffed with a shrug. "Whatever. C'mere." She found a nearby couch and collapsed onto it, putting her feet up on the table. Making herself at home already? No matter. Shine joined Curio, keeping a little bit of distance from her.

"Who's they?" she said, pointing to the picture.

"Some of his friends from where he works. They-"

"Don't care." She casually tossed the frame onto the table.

"Careful!"

It clattered against the wooden surface, yet still maintained its pristine image. Shine could've turned white; it was a miracle the glass hadn't broken.

"Sorry, I guess." She jerked her head to both directions. "This is where you live?"

"Yes. What's wrong with it?"

"It's a dive, alright."

"Really?" He grumbled. "He only cleaned the place up a few days ago, as far as I know. He's not that messy."

"You kiddin'? This is cleaner than most places I've been to, too clean if you ask me. You know, I'd be happy to mess this place up for you if you want."

"Curio, that's enough." Shine leapt off the couch and glared at her. "I get that you're not friendly with trainers. That's fine. But at least get to know Tony before you throw him under the bus. I'm not having this in my own home."

"Listen..." She put her arms behind her head, glancing to the side. "I'm not here to sip tea with your trainer or whatever it is he gets up to, I just want to get to this interview already."

"Just be patient with him, alright?" He gritted his teeth. Why did he feel guilty in the company of his own friend like this? No, he had to put his foot down. Or rather, his paw down. "Do this for me, please."

She glared back at Shine, the two locked in an internal battle between each other's gazes. The clock ticked in the background, tick, tick, tock, filling the silence in the room aside from the sizzles in the kitchen. How long was it going to take until they reached an agreement? Before that could happen, though, Tony came in with a plate full of stir fry. Shine turned, sensing that Tony debated where to sit, and he looked back to Curio, raising an imaginary eyebrow. Finally, she took the hint, sighing as she sat on the floor opposite the couch, just behind the table.

" _You could've just moved up,"_ he said.

"Didn't wanna," she said in her own tongue. He guessed she wasn't proud of admitting that, but it was best not to dwell on it for now. Shine sat back on the furniture as Tony joined him, jabbing a fork into the mess of noodles. He ate in silence while Shine thought of something to say, anything to diffuse the tension.

" _That smells nice,"_ Shine lied, thinking it was rather strong for his tastes.

"I used a different sauce this time." Tony chewed on another mouthful as Curio wrinkled her nose.

" _Alright, erm, Tony,"_ she said, "w _haddya need me to do? I didn't come here to watch you stuff your face or talk about sauces, y'know."_

Shine would've told her off again, but to his surprise, Tony smiled. "I like your attitude. Well, I didn't mean to drag you here and expect you to fire away immediately. I just thought we'd get to know each other first. Sorry about the camera thing again, y'know."

She scratched her ear, lingering on it for a while until she shrugged. " _Ugh, never mind. Look, I don't really wanna get into this right now. I'm not here to make friends with you._

" _Curio..."_ Shine growled, before Tony held up his hand.

"Alright, I understand." Tony put his plate to the side and clasped his hands together. Despite Curio's glass-shattering gaze, he wasn't intimidated, but confronted her with a confident gaze of his own. "You want to get to the point already. Shine already told you about the project, so you'll probably want to know when to start."

 _"As soon as we can, if that's fine."_

He patted Shine's head. "If my buddy's fine with it too."

" _Y-yes, of course."_

" _Okay, cool. I wanna know somethin', though."_ Curio straightened her back and drummed her metallic fingers on the varnished counter. _"You know what you're doing, right? You aren't doing this just to rake in the dough, or become famous, or whatever. You're not using Shine as a tool, are you? And don't think of lying. You never lie to a Lucario."_

That phrase put a chill down Shine's spine. Was she threatening him? And what business did she have to assume that about his trainer?

"I know what I'm doing," Tony said in a heartbeat. "I just want Shine to get better. If I can uncover this story, that's only a bonus, and when I do post it, I doubt it would make much money, if any at all. Since you are his friend, though, and he has talked about you, I understand you'd be worried."

She took one look at Shine, shooting him a smirk, before she returned to that soured expression with his trainer. Or rather, a focused expression. At this point, Shine had started to sense when Curio was looking at someone's aura. It was more seeing through them, rather than looking at them.

" _Okay, that's all I wanted to know."_ She gritted her teeth, then clapped her paw and hand together. _"It's, er, nice to do business with you, Tony, sure, yeah."_ Saying it out loud didn't make the disdain for him any less apparent. Shine was still not impressed, as his friend struck him as being needlessly difficult. At least she honoured his wish to keep things civil, for the moment.

"I can finish this quickly before we start recording; I'll just wash up later." Tony stood up with his half-eaten plate in hand, looking down at Curio. "Do you want a drink before we start, though?"

" _Nope."_

Maybe not all that civil.

* * *

Tony walked the two over to the studio, shovelling the rest of the stir fry in his mouth on the way there. They went to Tony's bedroom, which had a walk-in closet, and past a rail filled with floral shirts and beach shorts was another room with no windows, covered up in painted-over egg cartons. Aside from the cheap insulator, the room looked like a professional recording booth, with equipment to one side, and lightboxes leaning on one wall. At the same time, it had that homespun vibe, with the familiar interview couch Shine had more or less tolerated. Curio wasted no time in making herself comfortable, throwing her bag onto one of the cushions. Before she sat on it, however, she took a peek at what Tony was doing as he adjusted the camera's tripod.

"Like what you see?" he said.

" _N-no,"_ she huffed. _"Human tech's all nerdy to me."_

That was awfully dismissive. Not that he remembered it at all, but that struck Shine as rather off based on his intuition.

"I'm almost done here, so we can start soon."

" _Good."_ Curio sat down on the couch, and, facing the full brunt of the lighting equipment, shielded her eyes from its glare.

"I'll turn it down just a bit." The light in the room dimmed and Tony sat down next to the camera. Shine sat beside his legs, mostly to face Curio while she talked, but also to be pet by his trainer. He wasn't above a bit of pampering.

" _This is feeling kinda weird already,"_ Curio said, crossing her arms. " _So how does this work? Do I just talk into a camera, is that all? Doesn't make for a very good flick if it just has a Lucario staring into a screen. Maybe if this was an art house film or something, like that one shot of Jubilife Tower that went on for eight hours."_

"I'm surprised you know about that. But, this is standard for what other documentaries do. We'll be shooting some B-roll footage and other clips to go along with the shots, like outdoor scenes, plus we can always edit what we need to so there's more variety."

" _If it helps,"_ Shine said, " _treat the camera as if it's not there and just look at him or me when you're talking. I used to get nervous before Tony told me that."_

" _I guess."_ She fidgeted in her seat, trying to find the most comfortable position where she wasn't squashing her tail, and relaxed. At last, she took a deep breath and smiled. " _I'm ready."_

Tony nodded and held up three of his fingers in one hand with his other on the REC button. Silently, he counted down, and the camera beeped.

"This is interview B, first few questions, take one. Who are you?"

" _Well, my name is Curio, and I'm a Lucario, I guess."_

"And what do you do?"

" _What do I do? Well, what do Pokemon usually do? I don't think lots of people ask that about me. I travel a lot, meet a lot of people and Pokemon in between, teach a few Pokemon how to speak if I need some grub, watch a lot of movies, and make stuff sometimes."_

"What sort of stuff?"

" _Hah, well it's kinda dorky, but I guess I can show you somethin'."_ She reached into her bag and pulled out a model of a Noctowl, similar to the Magikarp Barley had, except in full scale. She turned it around in her paw.

" _I was sleeping rough in Hearthome at one point. Don't ask how, but that ain't exactly my proudest moment."_ The slightest frown spread across her lips. _"Anyways, one of the things I did during the day was visit the local scrapheap for anything I could find. You find lots of interestin' stuff humans just dump there, you know, like whole bits of furniture and all sorts of valuable scraps. You humans sure do waste a lot. I guess that's what Muk are for."_

"Perhaps."

" _Well, I made friends with this wild Noctowl that browsed through the trash there, and I wanted to make this for him using the stuff I found there. I think it took me a few days, but when I finished it, he only looked at it once and said his farewells, so I just kept it, I guess."_

"That looks good," Tony said.

" _Yeah,"_ she said with a sarcastic chuckle, " _for a Pokemon, you mean. That's what people always say."_

"No, I'm actually impressed. I might not look it, but that's how I feel. It's just nice meeting someone creative, that's all. I like knowing what makes them tick."

Curio paused, glaring at him with that same look she gave before. Then, she leaned back, satisfied.

" _Alright, I believe you."_

He nodded and stopped recording. Curio shoved the curio back into the bag, which despite looking as big as the bag itself, fit perfectly into it.

" _That was it?"_

"No," Tony said, "I'm just separating each question per video. It saves me a lot of time by doing that instead of going at it all at once."

" _Shouldn't we try that again though? I rambled a little bit."_

"It's fine. Edit it in post, as they say."

" _Yeah, whatever."_ She shrugged it off. _"But this was nice, actually. I can see why it's been helpin' you, Shine."_

The Luxray smiled.

"Alright," Tony said, "tell me when you're ready and I'll ask the next question."

" _Ready."_

He clicked the REC button again and announced the second shot to the camera.

"Now, what was your life like before you were brought to GeL?"

" _Well, nothin' too spectacular, that's kinda what brought me there in the first place. My parents made whoopee, I got squeezed out, and hatched onto a little island only me and my family inhabited. The end. Nah, I'm just kidding. There's a lot more to it than that._

 _"Where I want to start is how my interest in humans began. You're all such weird creatures. You can grow facial hair, you can walk on two legs, well- we can, but not every other Pokemon- and you have completely different rules to what Pokemon have. No Pokemon could've come up with a society where they make us lesser beings fight, after all. Probably, don't quote me on that. But that's what I found so delightful about you humans. The way you moved, the way you acted, it was all strange, and I wanted to see how it all worked. That's what's led me to where I am now._

 _"You could say its my own fault I ended up this way, and you'd be right. But, that's life, I guess, and life's messy, complicated, and well, sometimes, kind of shit. But it's also got good stuff in it too. And if this is going to be the story about my life and how it all began, I should probably tell you about Mom first."_


	9. Oh Wait, We're Recording?

**The Island Arc**

I owe a lot to Mom for leading me to this path. Of course, said path was formed with my blood, sweat and tears, but if it wasn't for her or my brother, I probably wouldn't have had any interest in human life at all. She had her own baggage, sure, but aside from being the one who wore the blue pants in the family, she was also my friend and a great storyteller.

If I am going to talk about my history and the road I'd go down later in life though, why not start it off with a story she told me? Not to derail what I said earlier about how I got here, but it's important to me personally, you know.

Telling a story before we turned in for the night was a tradition of Mom's. She'd either read from one of the books she brought with her to the island, or tried her hand at making her own. Most of them weren't really that impressive, so I have a hard time remembering them all at the top of my head. This story she told one night, however, really stuck with me, and to this day, I remember what she said, word for word.

The night it happened, we were huddled around a campfire in our little nook of the island. I say we, but I really mean me and my three brothers while Mom was on the opposite side. Li- I mean, my Dad had actually lit the fire, and what a strong fire it was, since it burned brightly and crackled loudly with all of the wood he gathered. Though Mom asked him to help her with that one, he disappeared into the forest after that without a word, so he didn't stick around for our story, unfortunately.

"Where's Daddy going?" Stumpy, asked. He was the second youngest Riolu of our bunch.

"Off," Mom said with a bit of a grim tone. "He has to protect the island again." From what, I didn't exactly know.

"Miss him," Twig, the youngest Riolu said. "Miss him."

Stumpy held onto Twig for comfort, rocking him back and forth in case he suddenly decided to throw a wobbler.

"Yeah," I said, "doesn't Papa like your stories?" I was a Riolu by the way, if that wasn't obvious already.

"He does." Mom smiled. "Even when he goes away, he still listens in with his aura."

"Really?" Stumpy said, stroking the runt's head. "Good."

"You should know Dad does well to protect us," Trunks said, who was my eldest brother, a Lucario. "One day, all of you will be able to grow strong like him."

"And you, don't forget that, dear," Mom said, looking to big bro. "I'm proud of your own strength as well."

Trunks tucked his arms in his legs, fidgeting a little uncomfortably. There was something about them that struck me as weird, but I didn't think much of it in the end. Just a side note, we didn't really give each other names, since it wasn't usually a thing for us Pokemon. It's not like you could smell or hunt a name, after all. I thought I'd call them that now since they deserved more than just being Riolu A or B.

With that out of the way, Mom stood up and announced the name of this new story: 'Wild Brides and Shifting Tides.' As she did, she held out her arms and sparks flew from the flames, as if she was channelling the power of the blaze. It glowed a bright orange, bathing everything in a warm light, and the fire reflected in both her green and red eyes on both sides. This marked the start of her tale.

Keep in mind that some of the stuff she said translates poorly to the human tongue, so think of this as my version, creative liberties and all.

 **"Firstly, there was a wild bride,  
with multi-coloured eyes and an unkempt hide.  
She would venture into alien territories  
and listen to those smooth-skinned beings' stories,  
Of those who wished to be the best and most wealthy,  
those who wanted to travel and those who wished to be healthy.  
She would listen for days, enthralled by their song,  
and wished deep down that she could become one.**

 **"Secondly, there was the melancholic groom  
eyes a dull red, but fur fine as a bundled broom.  
He had lived amongst those alien creatures  
who once acted as his guardians and teachers,  
only to be released into the wild yonder,  
and with no one to care for him, he left to aimlessly wander.  
He would hunt alone with a void growing in his heart,  
and wished to find someone to bond with; to make a new start.**

 **"One day, the bride met one such alien up close,  
face furious and frightening, and clad in dark clothes,  
he summoned a beast, one devoid of compassion,  
as it clawed at the poor bride in such a ruthless fashion.  
It overpowered her and left her in a state of rapture,  
bruised and cut, she was doomed for capture,  
then the wanderer heard her cries,  
and dashed as swiftly as a Wingull to the skies.  
He stood between the bride and the beast,  
warding it and the alien off, at last she was at peace.**

 **"When she next awoke, her body felt anew,  
as if a spell had been cast on her, it ended all so soon,  
the wanderer stood before her, offering his paw,  
and for the rest of their days, they ventured together forevermore."**

We were stunned. It was more like a poem than a story, really, but even in her own tongue, it flowed in such a way that it felt like a song. I repeated the lines in my head, trying to process was she had said, but I got the gist of it.

Then Stumpy broke down sobbing.

"Nnph," he spluttered, "t-that was, t-that was...' He cried into Twig's shoulder, which ended up setting him off as well, like a line of gobby dominoes. Poor Trunks had to comfort them both, rubbing each of their backs as they let it all out. Through the power of aura, and all, I felt a little of their emotions trickle over to me, and I ended up getting misty eyed as well, being just another poor sod caught in the domino line.

"C-c'mon, you guys," I said, sniffling, "it wasn't scary or anythin'. I loved it."

"I d-d-did too!" Stumpy said. "B-but, it was just so sad, and, and…"

"Sad! Sad!" Twig said.

"Shh, shh, shh," Trunks whispered in that soothing tone. Both of them piped down after a while, sniffling every so often. A minor improvement if you ask me.

"Well," Mom said, sitting back down. "I think we should call this a night. You lot must be tired."

We all agreed on that one. Mom went off on her own and kissed us all on the forehead, wishing us good night. Trunks was there to settle things down, smoothing out the grass beds for us to sleep in, and we all laid there, turning in for the night. Everyone else went to sleep before me, first Twig, then Stumpy. Before Trunks' aura signal dampened, there was a bit of sadness there too, but also anger. Why anger? Then, he went to sleep, while I had my eyes closed, trying to follow in his pawprints.

It didn't work. Sure, my body tried, but my mind was still alert. So I tried to lull myself to sleep. There was one other story Mom told me of this cat-like creature called a Skitty, who became good friends with a creature much bigger than it called a Wailord. Or were they more than friends? It was weird, but I liked thinking about that one. Yet, Mom's 'wild brides' story kept coming back to me.

If the lines didn't have so much rhythm and flow, it wouldn't have been stuck in my head so much. Well, not only that, but I kept thinking about what the lines meant. Although most of my siblings didn't question the meaning of the story as far as I knew, I was curious about the aliens she talked about. I could tell she meant the alien wasn't a Pokemon, but if that was the case, what was it? The sort of things she talked about like the smooth skin and the clothes were new to me, so naturally, I was curious. I tossed and turned for what felt like an hour before I decided I had enough.

I opened my eyes again, staring at the swaying leaves that blocked the sky for a minute. Aside from the snoring from my brothers, the whole island was still. All sleep and sound. I stood up, slinking past my sleeping siblings and taking care not to trip over their tails. My goal was to get through the forest to the shore, where Mom probably was.

I weaved through the winding branches and rocky terrain, trying not to trip up in the darkness of the night. Granted, my eyes were good at seeing in the dark, but there was always the chance of stubbing your freaking toe on a rock. If table legs could do that to humans, who's to say Pokemon were safe from it? What guided me through the woods, however, were my parents straight ahead. Their auras only appeared as basic shapes, probably the size of a tennis ball at most, but that was enough to link me to them. Besides, we were never too far away as the island wasn't particularly big; you could've hiked around the whole thing in the morning and there would still be plenty of sun left after you were finished.

I ran towards their wavelengths then crept behind a tree as the two rough-housed on a rocky stage. They were neck and neck, pushing each other as they tried to make the other one lose their footing.

"You're getting sloppy there," Dad said in a somewhat serious tone.

"Ha!" Mom yelled, nudging her foot against his, "you've seen nothing yet!"

She squeezed his hips, making him laugh and fall back on his ass. Nice one, Mom. I had to laugh at that one as well; Dad hadn't been that cheerful in a while. Seeing him enjoy himself at last, I ran towards the fray while he was charging up an aura sphere of his own.

"Dirty tactics." He smirked. "Wouldn't expect anything else from a wild-"

I pounced on him, stopping him dead.

"H-hey, you little-" he said, trying to catch me.

"I'm on Mom's side, so I can't let ya win, Papa!"

Finally, he picked me up by the skin of my neck like some ragdoll, leering at me. "What are you doing here so late?"

"Well," I said, "ya looked like you were havin' fun, so I thought I'd join ya!"

Dad shook his head, turning me over to meet my mother's gaze.

"How should we punish her then?"

Mom, always the one to come up with stuff on the fly, flashed that toothy grin of hers.

"Throw her in the ocean and have her sleep with the fishes?"

"No please!" I pleaded in mock horror, "anythin' but that!"

Dad threw me without warning, dropping me onto the hard ground. You know, because dropping me down onto a jagged surface was apparently a good idea. I yelped in pain, nursing my tail as Mom tugged on Dad's aura sensors.

"Was that necessary?" she grumbled. "A bit hard on her, don't you think?"

"Oh. Sorry."

She released her grip, letting Dad kneel down to my level. He held a paw out, like he was gonna hug me or take my hand, but instead, he just kept his paws on his own lap.

"Seriously, pup, you shouldn't be here at this time of night. Why are you up?"

"Ngh," I grunted, clutching my poor back-buddy, "I can't stop thinkin' about the story Mama told me."

"That's it? I didn't think it would've given you nightmares; you're supposed to be tougher than that."

I stood up, waving my paws in the air as I tried to let it out.

"No, no! It wasn't scary or anythin', I loved it! I can't stop thinkin' about the lines and I can't rest cause of that, and it won't let up 'til I find out what they're about and—"

"Okay." Mom stopped me. "I see what you mean. What did you want to ask?"

"The aliens and such. I know the rest actually happened to you two, but it hurts my head to think about what they're supposed to be."

At that moment, a sharp change of emotions emanated from Dad's aura. He usually radiated a negative energy, the kind of thing that comes with unpleasant memories, but that time, it was even more potent than before. It showed an awful mix of fear and sadness, although his face didn't change. What he actually thought about, I had no idea, at least at the time anyway.

Mom picked me up and held me in her embrace as she stroked at my ears. That was nice. And don't get any ideas, Tony, that's not my favourite spot..

"Honey," she said. "I'd like to talk with her alone for a bit."

She set me down, gently I might add, to the side so she could whisper in Dad's ear. I tried to lean in to listen, but they pulled away before anything could reach me, then Mom held my paw and walked with me towards the sea. So, it was just us two, hand in hand, strolling along the shore. The rocks were gritty, crunching under our paws, but it was the finer kind than the more cliffy parts of the island. Since it was colder at night, it had a nice cooling effect on my feet. Walking with her though was even nicer.

"So," she said, "how much do you know about both our pasts?"

"Well, not a lot, you never chatted to me about it, but I know bits. I know there's more out there too, with all kindsa Pokemon with different looks from ours, not just on this rock. Those Magikarp had to come from somewhere."

"Well spotted, dear." She faced the ocean; waves illuminated by the moonlight. "We're in a series of islands known as, well, it's not easily explained." She meant an archipelago. "Even bigger than that, we're in the region known as Sinnoh, a large cluster of land. That's where the aliens live." She faced me again. "Well, that's a little bit of a lie."

"Aw, why?" I eyed her with scorn, as lying was something Dad told us to never do as a future Lucario. Not that I listened to him half the time, but that was still something I held true to.

"It's mostly to do with your father." She frowned. "He has some memories he doesn't want to dig up. But let's say aliens aren't the correct word for them. Rather, they're humans."

I won't go through every detail of what she said as it's common sense to any Pokemon who hasn't been living under a rock, but she explained what they were like: Smooth skinned, wore clothes, grew facial hair, could mostly walk on two legs, yadda yadda yadda. Then she went on to explain how the world worked and what Pokemon were to them. You know the score already.

"Why do they want to capture us?" I said.

"So they can train us and take us along with them on their quest to be the best, whatever that's supposed to mean."

"Doesn't sound fun."

To that, Mom laughed, playfully tugging at one of my sensors.

"I never thought it would be much fun either, and I'm glad I never took that route. Your father, however, was born into it, so he didn't really have much choice."

At that point, a light switch went off in my head, or whatever the equivalent of that was back then. I thought back to the story and the info she gave me on the true nature of those aliens, or rather, humans.

"So I shouldn't trust them?"

"It's complicated. Maybe if things were different, but let's just say you should avoid them for now. They shouldn't come anywhere close to this island, and if they do, your father will chase them off, you hear? He works hard to protect this place when he's alone."

"Isn't he always alone, though? At least, when he's not tellin' us what stuff to do?"

Mom sighed, and another part of her aura pulsed. It was an unknown feeling; something that wasn't happy or sad. I didn't know what to make of it, but she must've seen my face though, since she knelt down and put both paws on my shoulders.

"Yes, I've noticed that, and I don't want that to become a habit of his." She looked towards the sea. "He's… not well, as in, he's still got a lot of things on his mind and he finds it hard. So he has to think on his own sometimes."

"Alone?" I cocked my head. "Isn't bein' with someone better?"

Her gaze quickly turned to me again. "For some people, yes. But I know he loves you, even if he doesn't show it. Does that make sense?"

I hummed in reply. It was a lot to take in. Something else about her aura felt wrong though, like it didn't match what she actually said, but her true thoughts were tucked away behind a lock, not allowing me to reach out to them. Before I questioned her, she pulled me in for a hug, scritching behind my head.

"We can talk some more about this later. Just know that we both love you and we want the best for you."

"I know..." It was hard to argue with those head pats and that soothing voice and that aura of hers, and, well, in general, I just felt safe with her. Like her soul gave off a warm glow. "Sorry for gettin' in the way of you guys playin'."

"Don't be sorry. We've still got plenty of time tonight. For the meantime, I would get some sleep. I wouldn't bring this up in front of him or your brothers, though. This human thing can be our secret for now."

I was speechless. My gut still told me to ask more, but I took the hint, so I pulled away from her and nodded. I also covered my mouth for good measure, just to say I could keep a zip on it. Before I went, she pulled me in again for a kiss then let me make my own way back to our den. Thankfully, no one else was awake to ask me what I was doing up so late, so I curled up back into my spot and rehearsed the story again in my head. I was satisfied, for now, and yet, there was a little pang of anger inside me. With what Mom said, it seemed like life was pretty bad outside that island. No wonder Dad sought out such a closed-off place. But that couldn't have stopped any other Pokemon coming in, could it? What would happen if one of those humans came down to our island?

What would happen if they met me?


	10. My First Weird Encounter

I guess the other big reason my interest in humans grew was Trunks, my big brother, though that might not become apparent just yet. If Mom wore the blue pants in the family, then he was the butt that held those pants in place, if that makes sense. He was usually the one looking after me and my brothers, making sure to play with us if Mom wasn't around and attending to our needs if we ever got injured or needed his advice.

If there's one memory that stuck out to me around that time, there was one day when he gathered us little monsters together for a morning training session on a rocky area somewhere near the forest. It was a particularly nice day where the skies were a true blue, yet the wind was strong, with leaves flying everywhere and the scent of sea salt wafting in the air. Trunks was in the middle of all of this, standing atop a rock where the leaves flittered around him, making him the centre of attention. Young me thought he looked awesome, so I was wanted to do my best for him.

"You three," he said, "today is an aura training day, so you should follow my movements and try to imitate me as best as you can." He stood on the balls of his feet and balanced himself on one leg in a stance. He cupped his paws in the shape of a ball around his belly.

"Remember, aura is an extension of your body. Your spiritual essence made manifest… I think."

"You think?" I asked.

"Mmmaybe." He smiled. "But I think of it like I'm drawing something out of my body. Like I'm tapping into my life force and channelling a little bit out of it. Just a little bit. Now, you three, copy what I did."

So, it was basically glorified yoga with glowing energy balls involved. I got on fine, as I was good at balancing myself atop of tree branches, but Stumpy wobbled as he tried to stand on the tips of his paws, and Twig, well, Twig did what Twig did and struck a random pose. Bless him. He was a hatchling, after all.

"Good work, sis." Trunks said. "You two, focus."

"I-I'm trying!" Stumpy said, "can't we just stand on both legs?"

"Stand on both legs! Stand on both legs!" Twig called.

Trunks didn't break from his position, but still stared at the two.

"We could, but the point is to copy what I do so you can learn how I channel my aura."

"Aw, why?" Stumpy said, breaking from his position. "It's not like we fight anythin' anyway!"

"How about Magikarp?" I chimed in.

"T-that's nothing!"

"Perhaps," Trunks shot back, "but you should still train anyway. Dad wants you to be strong, so you can be like him one day and take over for him after time has passed."

That struck me as odd. I had to break away from my own perfectly matched pose to express this.

"Hey, bro," I said. "You're strong as well. Mama says as much. Why can't we be like you?"

He smiled, probably humbled by my comment, but still kept his pose.

"You can do that too. But I mostly do as he asks by looking after you along with Mom, so, you should follow his example."

"But Papa rarely sees us. Why can't he just, ya know, come out and teach us himself?"

"N-never mind that," Trunks said, slightly wobbling. That must've struck a nerve as his wavelength changed slightly. That moment of weakness didn't last long as he straightened his back again. "We should get back to practising."

Trunks took a deep breath and honed his aura energy into his paws. He told us to do the same, and so, I drew in my own energy as well, as a hot glow emanated from inside my body and manifested into something physical.

I can't really describe how I did it all that well, even now. How do I make you understand what aura is when I can't make you use it yourself? I wouldn't say it's rocket science, but I don't know jack about rocket science myself, so that leaves the both of us at a dead end. So let's just say it's magic for now. Well, it would've been magical if that bit of aura I drew out wasn't the size of a pea. Still, the rest hadn't even gotten to that stage, so in my case, that was considered a breakthrough, which he applauded. In the end, Trunks shot his sphere into the air while I shot my pea, and all was well.

I should really stop saying pea. That sounds wrong when I say it in this situation.

We were in the middle of the next exercise, which was basically more of the same except with another weird pose. Variety clearly wasn't Trunks' speciality. But Stumpy brought up Dad again when he asked what he thought of this type of training, and speak of the devil, the blue Mon appeared before us. We immediately stopped, going up to him as if he was a Legendary Mon.

"Papa!" I called.

"Come see what we're doing!" Stumpy said.

"Yes! Yes!" Twig said, being one of many words.

"Enough." Dad stepped back, leaving us three to wonder what he was doing. Trunks just stood by the side, calmly observing all of this. "You lot have got work to do today. It's hunting time again."

Our ears immediately shot up at that. Hunting fish was perhaps the least favourite part of our day, or my day at least, but it had to be done. If we were to stay fit and strong and healthy and, you know what, you get it. But as soon as he appeared, he starting walking away.

"Make me a proud Mon today," he said, and left, disappearing into the forest again. Like I said, he was like a Legendary. Each sighting of him during the day was an event of its own, if you ever caught him.

"Alright, you three, you heard him," Trunks said, kneeling down to pat our backs. "I'll come with you to help. Just remember your training."

We weren't really that enthused, but we nodded anyway. It was our duty, and we were pleased to do anything to help out the family. Or, well, I was pleased anyway. So, we headed over to the shore as we had our separate jobs to fill out. Twig just sat on the sidelines, waiting in a safe zone of his in case we had any catches for him to carry. He was still basically fresh out the egg, but we had to start him out somewhere.

The rest of us waited at the edge of the island, looking for any signs of those Magikarp swimming around. Now, they were big buggers that flapped around a lot, so we never really struggled to find them. Even on a bad day, we found at least one, so that usually tided us over for that night's meal. Finding anything more than that was just a bonus.

We waited as the wind blew around us and the water lapped at our feet. After a while, Stumpy leaned into my shoulder, eyes half open, looking as if he was about to fall asleep. His aura wasn't on guard that time, and his tail was planted flat behind him. He might as well have had a bunch of billboard-sized Zs floating above his head.

If you've ever had a sister, you can probably guess where this is going. I reached out to little bro's tail, about to tug on it, when Trunks cleared his throat.

"Don't be annoying," he said.

I pouted. "He can't just doze off like that, bro."

He grunted and looked off into the distance. He peered at something, staring into the water, or rather, staring through the water. I knew that aura-detecting look instantly. Then, he turned and smiled.

"Go on."

And with that, I yanked Stumpy's tail, making him yelp as he stood straight up.

"W-what'd you do that for, sis?!"

"Sorry," I said, barely containing myself.

"You're not sorry." He crossed his arms. "You're laugh- hey, bro, that's not on!"

Trunks snickered as well, though as quickly as it appeared, he stopped, bringing Stumpy and me closer to him in a hug. "Never change, you two."

Stumpy couldn't help but join in the laughter as well. I felt kind of bad for leaving Twig out of it as well, but he was probably just doing his own thing. We didn't keep him too far away anyway.

Then, Trunks pointed to a bunch of red fins splashing on the surface. Now it was time. We jumped into the water, which was shallow close to the shore, so we didn't even have to hold our breaths. Our aura senses picked out this splashing figure, which of course, was a Magikarp, and we all ganged up on it, grabbing it together. Once we were sure we had a grip on it, we hauled tail to the island again, heaving and ho'ing until we reached the rocks again. Stumpy got into a bit of trouble as the Magikarp's fin smacked him across the face, knocking him to the ground, but big bro was there to pick up the pace. Then, well, a Lucario has a metal spike. A Magikarp has a tender neck. I think you can do the math.

I didn't feel particularly bad about it. Trunks often reached into their minds and told us there was nothing there, so we didn't need to be ashamed of our catch. Still, that got me wondering, if we were able to think and fend for ourselves, then why weren't those Magikarp doing the same thing? I'll leave that for another time.

Once we were sure that fish was no longer moving, we tended to Stumpy, who sulked as he nursed his cheek.

"U-ugh," he whimpered, "t-that hurt."

"Yes," Trunks said, stroking his head, "they can be a paw-full. Still, we've got our catch for the day."

If it was just one catch, that meant one Magikarp had to be shared between the rest of the family. My stomach was already rumbling, so having a little morsel of a Magikarp wouldn't have satisfied me. Then, I thought of something. Why did Dad walk around as if he had a spike up his butt the whole time? Well, I didn't literally think that at the time, but it was something close to it. I connected certain dots that weren't there to begin with and cooked this up:

"Say, if we catch more, bro, do you think Papa will spend more time with us?"

That won me a weird look from Trunks.

"That not the reason he's on his own so much."

"W-well," I said, putting my paws on my hips, "maybe he's hungry and has to hunt more after! No no, wait! Maybe he wants us to prove we can catch more stuff, like he said!"

Big bro huffed. "You think so?"

"Y-yeah, c'mon!" I grabbed Trunks' paw. "Let's make him a proud Mon! We can catch more!"

"Well, I'm sitting out!" Stumpy said.

"No pressure, bro." In turn, Trunks squeezed my paw and cupped it in his own. "Are you sure? You don't have to if you don't feel you need to. And, hey, listen," he lowered his head to whisper, "to be honest, Dad's just Dad. He won't change, not for this island or anyone else."

That struck me as a bit odd. His sour expression didn't really help things, though I wanted to prove him wrong, so I gave him a huge, beaming smile. "Well, I wanna try!"

"Okay, let's do it." Returning the smile, big bro picked me up, carrying me back to the shore to do some more work. It was simple: I'd catch it, he'd finish it off, and we'd bring it back. Rinse and repeat. We ended up with several of them by the time our shift was over. Me and bro fist-bumped at the end of our hunt. We'd have a good dinner on our paws that night.

Well, maybe not as good as an Octillery. One time a while ago, we caught a pure feral one and made a meal out of that. Those tasted even better than the Magikarp. Now that I mention it, I could murder an Octillery right now.

Wait, that came out wrong, didn't it? Kind of makes me sound like a bloodthirsty killer, but whatever, I'm getting sidetracked.

So we all worked together to bring the rest of the Magikarp over to where my parents were. Even though carrying the fish over was a bit of a load, I kept my grip on it, thinking about what Dad's reaction would've been when I got there. Maybe I could've gotten him to crack a smile for once, which was rare for him, at least around me.

Once we navigated the dense forest, we arrived at the base again. Mom wasn't there, though we detected she was getting something else from another place, but Dad was, and he beckoned us over with our catches for the day. One, two, three, four, five, six: a plentiful meal for all of us. Surely, that would've impressed him, right?

Nope. He just grunted and told us to drop the fishes off.

"Now then, wait here while we cook. Pup-" he looked to Trunks- "you can help us two out. The rest of you, go play together."

"I keep saying I'm not a pup anymore," Trunks said with a sigh. He looked back at me with an apologetic smile, trying to find something else to say.

"Don't keep me waiting." So that was settled. Him and Dad disappeared into another part of the woods with the catches in tow, and my brothers were just fine clowning around for the moment. I wasn't though. To be honest, I felt kind of crappy.

After all that effort, Dad didn't even spit in my direction. Again, he just left us to our own devices. Not that I should've expected that much; even a part of me knew Dad wouldn't have reacted any different. So, why? Young me didn't know how to express it at all. Without my brothers noticing, I wandered off into the forest for no particular reason other than to clear my head.

You know those moments where you just need to be left alone for a bit? Even though you might've called me a pack animal, I still needed my own company every once in a while. Maybe to swim around the island or watch some of the different fishes I didn't know the names of splash out of the ocean. Or sit by myself, looking up at all the birds that swooped over the trees. I wondered why they didn't come down there. Better yet, I wondered what it would've been liked up there, flying high and all that.

Again, sidetracked. Not even the sights of the winding trees and the colours of the leaves calmed me down. I felt unwanted, unloved, unneeded, and all those other words for feeling cast aside. I don't know, I'm not a walking thesaurus. But anyway, I eventually made my way out of the forestry. When I entered the shore area, though, guess what I saw?

No guesses? Alright, one heck of a crowd we have here tonight. I saw a human for the first time.

I froze at the sight of the girl and her Prinplup. Again, I didn't know at the time what species it was exactly, but with that beak and that deep blue body, it does kind of narrow it down in retrospect. But yeah. I don't know what I expected humans to look like, even when Mom gave me an idea of their alien appearance, but she made it sound like they were monsters. To me though, they just seemed like another species, like a Pokemon. Although I didn't know it yet, she was a trainer, and just like Mom said, she grew hair, wore clothes and had smooth skin.

For that moment, time stood still. When she saw me, she whispered something to that blue Pokemon of hers and they stood in front of her in a battle stance.

I realised the kind of situation I was in rather quickly. I was about to get into a fight and I stood there, dumbstruck. If that happened anywhere else, I would've been dead. At the same time though, there was a chance they only looked to defend themselves from a wild Pokemon and only acted out of survival instinct. I had questions as well, and being attacked was the last thing I wanted to happen. A friendly approach seemed better than a pointless fight after all. As miserable as I felt before, I snapped out of my headspace and called out to them, waving a paw in the air. The Prinplup eased their stance a little and I slowly approached them, but the girl's expression was still a little unsure.

"I'm not gonna harm y'all," I said, "I just wanna talk, okay?"

The Prinplup held their paw out to the trainer. It could've been a ceasefire or a command to attack, but thankfully, she smiled, letting me know we were at peace with each other. She crouched so she could be at my level.

Her mouth moved, and while I couldn't understand a word of what she said, her voice was reassuring and warm in a way you wouldn't get from a Riolu or Lucario. In my opinion, when we speak in our own tongue, it mostly sounds like we're hacking up hairballs. But the human chuckled and petted my head. Those hands. Wow, they were smooth. Joy overtook reason and I growled the same way I would've with Mom. Then that squawky voice had to ruin the moment.

"Ugh, I'm going to vomit."

Yeah, screw that bird. In any case, I couldn't hear what the human said, but the way they went back and forth with each other as if they understood each other seemed strange to me.

"Wait," I said, "can you understand her?"

"Yeah, duh."

"No duh! Can she understand you though?"

"Nope. She just has a good ear for disapproval."

That was a let down. Even if Mom told me beforehand, I wasn't used to being ignored like that. Still, that wouldn't stop me from getting my way if the Prinplup relayed what I said back to her, who continued petting me.

"How'd you get here?" I asked.

"Surfed here."

"Surfed?" Then, something popped into my head. "Never mind. Say, what's the world like out there? Is it nice?"

He shrugged. "Nice as in you see a lot of interesting things. Nice as in I get to mooch off of my trainer for food, and sometimes, watch the sort of shows she likes together. Human programming is weird."

I didn't know what he meant by that, but that's beside the point. Sure, I thought about what the world was like outside for some time, but having someone there who actually experienced it, with a human no less, enticed me to check it out myself. Before then, I wasn't really desperate, but at that moment, flashing through my days spent on the island, with Dad absent for a lot of it, something inside me flicked on, like a light switch. Now, my vague interest turned into a burning resolve.

"Can you take me with you for a bit? Just for a little, tiny bit. I wanna come back here though."

The Prinplup put his flipper on the girl's shoulder and pointed to her belt, then back to me. I looked up to see several shiny balls coloured red and white. No points for guessing what their purpose was. I didn't know at the time so I just stared at them until the trainer pulled away from me and smiled, saying something else in that same warm tone, then pulled out on of those balls and held it in front of me. She looked at me expectantly, pointing to the Pokeball she held up, and I raised my paw to it.

I wonder what would've happened had I touched that Pokeball and went with her. She seemed nice, after all, and I probably would've avoided all the stuff that happened at GeL beforehand. At the same time, I probably would've lived a mediocre life for a Pokemon if I had, and since I had gotten a taste of that lifestyle later on, I don't think I would've traded what actually happened for anything else, looking back.

"GET AWAY!" Dad screamed. The trainer broke off from me and in turn, he dashed towards the two. Not knowing what else to do, I ran away from them, getting as far as I could've from the ensuing battle.

Without prompt, Dad threw an aura sphere at the Prinplup's head, which he blocked with a flipper, knocking him back several paces. The trainer ran to his side and pointed at Dad, shouting a command of some sort, and the penguin Pokemon spouted a stream of water from his mouth. It was quick, but Dad was quicker, dodging to the side as he threw a punch at his face, which connected. Even when the Prinplup fell to the floor, Dad still didn't stop. Taking on punch after punch, the Prinplup could've only shielded himself from the onslaught. Then, the girl stood between them.

I saw how fearful she was through her pained expression and her aura. When you're faced with a creature that has freaking spikes on their paws, you're pretty much at their mercy. Nevertheless, she spoke in a calm voice to him, although I wasn't sure how much good it did. Would he have understood her if I didn't?

 _"Get out,"_ he said in human tongue. Those were the first words I understood in human; said so plainly, yet from his aura, it hid a massive amount of anger, so it left an impact on me.

She helped the Prinplup to his feet and departed not long after, setting sail on the penguin's back to surf across the sea.

I stood in silence. I hadn't seen Dad act like that before, if I ever did, not even when he told us off. Then, he walked towards me, still having that raging look on his face, and my heart quickened a bit as he approached. Would he have shouted at me again, like he did whenever I broke one of his rules? Or just brush me aside like he did just a moment ago?

My fears melted away as he picked me up, cradling me in his paws. That was the first time he did it like that in a while, and it was nice. His body was warm, though he stank of fish. Still, being close to him like I did with Mom, that gave me a warm feeling too.

"Sorry, pup. I let my guard down."

"U-um, okay." I didn't know what the heck happened.

"I was… foolish." His voice trembled, but he cleared his throat before he continued. "Your mother… she told me you were upset. She's perceptive, that one. Can sniff out a bad feeling from a mile away."

"Mmm hmm," I agreed, not that I knew what a mile was at the time.

Dad gently lifted me down to the rocky floor and I saw his expression relaxed, although those red eyes still stared into my soul. "Do you see why I spend so much time on my own? To search the island and make sure this doesn't happen."

"D-Dad," I said, trembling under his gaze. "W-why?"

"Because if they do, if those..." he snarled as he said the next word, "things take you, they will make your life misery. They'll strip everything you love away from you. You must never go up to them again. If you see one, run. Run." He grabbed my shoulders. "Do you understand, girl?"

It was a lot to take in at once. First, the fight that happened, then being told something like that, I just wanted stuff to go back to normal. So, I nodded and went along with it.

"Good. Good." Dad hugged me once more, again, giving off that warm feeling, though it wasn't so much of a hug as it was an awkward embrace. Still, an A for effort, I suppose. "Now, let's have dinner together. I'll stay with you for a bit, and then we can listen to one of your mother's stories. Would you like that?"

"Yeah!" I said with a big smile. I realised he did love me, in his own special way.

Feh, so I thought, anyway. But I digress.

We ate dinner in the base together. Unlike what a lot of other wild Mon did, according to my parents, Mom would de-bone the fish first, then cook them over an open fire on a wooden skewer. It's not like we couldn't have eaten them raw as our immune systems were built for it, but honestly, it was freaking delicious like that. If we were like cavemen discovering fire Mons or something, that would've been the end of it.

This time though, Mom took out a metal pan with water in it, and put that over the fire as we ate our grilled Magikarp. She added the bones to the broth, then watched as the water boiled, making a thicker kind of liquid for what we'd later find out was a soup stock.

That was new. In the middle of my meal, I had to dig my teeth into this new invention. Not literally, of course, else it would've freaking hurt.

"Where'd you get that?" I asked. "No actually, why do you cook stuff? It tastes better, I know, but I'm just wonderin'."

Mom just smiled. "It's a secret. Isn't that right, you two?"

"Yes," Trunks said, while Dad just grunted.

After they were done and poured the fish into the broth, they dished out the soup into wooden bowls, which we all got a taste of. Unsurprisingly, that was delish, but also something unexpected. You have to spice things up if you're living off of a diet of fish, after all. Though, I also wondered where they got those ideas from. Maybe some of the same ideas Mom got when reading out from her book, another seemingly alien invention.

Speaking of which, while we slurped from the soup bowl, Mom took us over to that story spot once more and told us a new poem she had been sitting on for some time. It was a little more free verse than her other stuff, and I didn't really know what to think of it at the time, but I still accepted it like any other, so I thought I'd share it here. Again, it's not exactly a direct translation, so take it with a grain of salt.

 **"So sings the sea serpent,**  
 **please, hear his song.**  
 **His children, a choir,**  
 **harmonise in the deep blue.**

 **"The entire ocean is his school,**  
 **and the fish that swim there, his pupils,**  
 **dancing with the Mantine and**  
 **brushing against the Corsola.**

 **"So sings the sea serpent:**  
 **"I've lived for thousands of years!**  
 **My blue crown stands tall!**  
 **My verse lives through millions of Magikarp!**  
 **I split the skies with beams of light!"**

 **"He lurks beneath the surface,**  
 **warning his students not to stray too far,**  
 **lest they be caught by bigger predators in singles**  
 **or captured by aliens in thousands.**

 **"So sings the sea serpent."**

After giving her a round of applause, we settled down for the night with a bunch of full bellies. I had a good meal, Dad actually sat with us for once, I got to understand him a bit better, and all seemed well. Well, sort of. Despite what Dad told me, meeting a human for the first time wasn't even a bad experience, a far cry from what Mom had made it out to be. My thirst to see the world hadn't been quenched yet. That itch inside still nagged at me, and it was something that could've only been scratched by meeting another human again.

* * *

 **Chapter 10 Patchnotes (11/02/20):**

The Magikarp hunt has its own scene instead of being summarised, as well as expanded characterization, so the length of the original chapter has doubled with new material.


	11. Bottoms Up, Bro

After that bit of excitement, everything fell into a routine as we hunted Magikarp as normal, played as normal, told stories as normal, slept as normal, repeat and repeat. Although I was satisfied with the answers I got and faced every day as it came, over time, a pit grew in my stomach. It was something I couldn't quite put my paw on, and it certainly wasn't hunger, since our hunts went well and I ate my fill. But rather, it was a hunger for something I hadn't known yet.

At least, not until one small encounter. I saw a bird Pokemon perch itself atop the trees as I walked across the shore one morning, just on a leisurely stroll. Again, I often wondered what they saw flying high up there, but more than that, I wondered what sights they saw beyond the island, beyond the sea. It probably knew there was more out there, and that's what I felt was missing, the sense of being connected to the rest of the world.

I sprang towards the forest, climbing to the treetops in no time where the Pokemon sat a few trees away, preening its feathers. I balanced myself on one of the highest tree branches and jumped from tree to tree in an effort to get close to it. Again, some details are fuzzy, but I believe it was a Wingull. It had the same blue streaks across its body, after all.

Anyway, it eyed me cautiously, and suddenly, I felt giddy. This was my chance to find out my escape route. Another chance to talk with something else other than Riolu and Lucario.

"Hey, er, can you tell me what's out there?" I said.

It just sat and stared, cocking its head. "Why?"

"Well, because! I wanna know what else there is to see! Ooh!" The more I talked, the more excited I got. "Can you fly me there? Please?"

It warbled, then took flight and fluttered above me. Yes, I thought. This was going to be my chance to do a bit of sightseeing. Maybe it could've grabbed my ears with its talons, then flown me there that way.

Nope. A white runny liquid hit the top of my head and ran down my face. I don't need to mention what it was.

In a panic, I lost my footing and fell off the branch. Thankfully, a bush broke my fall, but then again, I fell onto several branches on the way down, also breaking it somewhat. To say I was sore afterwards was an understatement. I got away with my bones intact, thank his holy ass, but I was bruised and battered all over. To add insult to injury, I stank. I had to get the acrid stench off of me as soon as I could, so I limped to the closest stream I could find in the forest running from the lake and dunked my head in it several times to wash it off. Even after I rinsed off the droppings, a whiff of it still lingered.

Just so you know, if you talk to any unknown Pokemon unannounced, especially flying Pokemon, they probably won't stick around for the conversation. At best, you'll get a face full of bird seed.

I ran my paws through my coat to find all sorts of splinters sticking to it. I tried to pick most of it off but I wasn't sure if it had gotten in places I couldn't reach. I had to get them out or they probably would've gotten septic, even though I had no idea what 'septic' meant at the time. It was something Trunks told me after all.

Lo and behold, his aura wasn't too far off; straight from the path of the stream into the lake. Although my legs were sore, I found my way there without trouble. He had already occupied himself, meditating by the lake at the edge of the bank. It was something he used to do to clear his head, apparently, but I never saw the point in it. I'd either fall asleep or get bored and leave. Once I stepped into the clearing, he turned around and scoffed.

"Alright," he said, "what trouble have you gotten into now?"

I scratched my back.

"I got splinters in my butt."

"Seriously? Well, come here then."

I sat on the bank beside him, dipping my paws into the water, and Trunks started combing through my fur.

"You don't always need to climb so high, you know."

"And what's the problem? I was just takin' a peek up there."

"Yes, but you're going to break your neck if you keep falling."

I winced as he pulled out something brambly behind me.

"And you could use a long bath too."

I sat in silence while he kept checking for splinters.

"Tell me, why do you want to get off the island?"

That caught me off guard. His tone seemed different that time, since he was a lot more serious then, though I didn't think much of it.

"How'd you know?"

"Your aura, of course."

"Well, why not?" I said, kicking the water, "I wanna see the world out there. It's not like I wanna leave this place forever."

"It's a tough world outside. You don't need to know."

The moment I heard that, I immediately turned, pulling myself away from his grasp. "Wait, what? So, you were out there?"

Letting out a grunt, he nodded. "I wasn't supposed to say that."

"Why? That's great!" I stood up, shaking his paws with enthusiasm. "You can tell me stories about it! Like what Mama does!"

"N-No." He brushed my paws aside, looking off into the distance. "I'd rather not."

"Aw, c'mon!" I gave him those little Riolu eyes. "I won't tell anyone else! Mama told me about humans and stuff, like the aliens she told in her story once! So she knows! And I wanna know more! Please?"

He brushed a few more shavings off my coat, then leaned in closer to the point where his muzzle touched mine, gazing at my with those familiar blood red eyes. I saw a little bit of Dad in him at that moment.

"Alright, you want to know how the world out there works? You're completely on your own, with the threat of death lurking all around you. Other Pokemon out there are much more violent. More uncaring. So, you must always be on alert, never letting your guard down for a moment, or else..."

He clapped, snapping me out of my trance.

"You're gone."

He stared into the lake ahead of us, at the rippling waters and the leaves falling onto the surface.

"I was a Riolu too. Mom and Dad, well, we hunted together, and the catches were a lot more risky than they were here. I saw some things I'd rather unsee today. Have you ever heard of poison?"

"I think so? It makes you feel sick, doesn't it?"

"Worse. Dangerous Pokemon carry it, and I saw one prey who had fallen into the trap of a predator. There were… spikes, ones that oozed strange liquids, and, well, the spikes had gotten into that prey. It was slow, but from what I saw of its body, well…"

Trunks' voice trailed off and he rubbed his eyes, taking a deep, ragged breath. I looked on, wanting to get closer to him, but pulled away at the last moment. I didn't really know how to comfort him in times like that, but even as a young Riolu, that didn't have the scary effect bro thought it would've conjured up.

"So, the world out there sucks, basically?"

He pulled himself together, and in time, he looked at me once more, resting his paw on mine.

"Yes, in a sense. Over here, you don't have to worry about any of that. You have a constant food source. There are no tall creatures with poisonous claws lurking about. Dad worked so hard to get us here, and now here we are, living in peace. You should be grateful towards him."

That, I was. Again, it wasn't like I wanted to pack my bags and take a train to the highlands, I just wanted to know what I was missing out on.

"Yeah, I am. Say, did you ever see humans?"

"Y-yes." He blanched at that. "Stay away from them. End of story."

I paused, catching a whiff of something foul about his aura, and it certainly wasn't the guano. It was like his feelings fought against what he said.

"That's not the end, though. You don't actually think that, do you?"

He squeaked in surprise, but he regained his composure and leered at me. "Of course I do. Now please don't make such things up."

"But, your aura..."

"Enough of that, sis, now please, drop it."

I knew I wasn't going to get any further from that, so I changed the subject.

"Besides, isn't every day here kinda the same? Don't you get bored?"

"Well…" He hesitated, and I felt a tinge of sadness in his aura if I didn't already. "I would be lying if I said this isn't boring, but I'd rather be bored than in some other creature's stomach."

I opened my mouth to say something but decided against it. I knew he was right. From the stories Mom told and all that, I thought of myself in his shoes. Well, you know we don't wear them, but you know what I mean. I imagined myself on my own, defending myself from creatures much faster, stronger and vicious than me, as I would later find out first hand. Still, there was that itch to find out, like sticking your paw in a Combee's nest.

Mercifully, he let me go and patted my back, letting me know it was okay to move on before he got stuck in another one of his rants. He smiled to me.

"There, it should be fine now. Make sure to clean those wounds or else they'll get infected."

"Okay," I said, and took a dip in that lake. I closed my eyes and let myself float on the surface, water lapping gently at my face, with Trunks meditating in the background. Another peaceful day, another long period of nothing happening. During that time, the weather got hotter as we often had to cool off by the lake, as living on an island in the summertime got humid after a while.

* * *

Another day some time later, me and Stumpy brought our findings to Mom and Trunks from our daily fish hunt. They thanked us and let us run off to wherever, so we visited the lake again where a tire swing awaited. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that before since I didn't think it was worth bringing up, but there was a swing hanging from one of the tree branches. It was one of the island's curiosities, since you know, tires don't grow on trees, but this day, I kind of question how Dad managed to bring all the stuff there, like the bowls and pans and such. Young me didn't care, since tire swings weren't for pondering on. Tire ponders weren't a thing, after all. I sat in between the hole and held onto the rope as Stumpy pushed me up, letting me swing for a bit.

That brings me back to a simpler time, as it sort of felt like flying. But with the thoughts of escape lingering on, as well as the bird Pokemon that flew carefree in the air already, it was close to being free, and yet, so far. Wait, I did say it wasn't for pondering on, didn't I? Well then, forget what I said.

Stumpy must've noticed a little bit of my aura, just a little as he wasn't any better than me at reading emotions, so he moved out the way, slowing me down.

"I didn't say stop, did I?" I said, spinning around on the rubbery donut.

"Yeah, I know, but why're you feeling so sad lately?"

"Aw, it's nothin' to lose sleep over."

"It's not that alien from before, is it?"

"What?" I waited for the right moment to jump, then leapt off to the land where Stumpy stood. "No, not at all. Really, that was the most interestin' thing I've seen on this rock."

"They're not interesting, they're dangerous. Daddy doesn't want you going near them."

I groaned. Stumpy often repeated something along the lines of 'Dad doesn't want you doing this', which was fair enough. Hearing it repeated several times over got annoying, and seeing how little brothers generally behave over the years to others, they tend to get under your skin. If I wanted a lecture, I would've gone to Trunks.

"So what does Papa want you to do?"

He put his paw on his chin as if he was seriously thinking hard about what I just said. "Um, he wants me to be good, and strong, and stuff."

"Would you eat his dung if he told you it tasted nice?"

"Ew, no!" He laughed.

"Well then," I reached down to him, locking him in a hold and knuckled his head. "Don't do everythin' he tells you to do."

"Stop!" He pulled away, rubbing his head. "You hurt, sis."

"Oh, you baby." I thought back to the conversation we had a while ago. "It's not like he sees you or anythin'. You said he never plays with you, so why'd you listen to him so much?"

"He just scares me, sis. His aura's so, so, so scary." He got misty-eyed again. "He n-n-never has time for m-me, or big bro, or little bro, or you. What's he d-doing all d-day?"

He sniffled, and sensing he was about to throw a wobbler again, I patted his shoulder and pointed to the tire swing that idly spun in place.

"At least you have us." I smiled. "Want me to push you?"

"Yeah." He wiped away his tears and slowly climbed on top of the swing. "Not too hard, though."

And so, it was my turn to do the rounds. I kicked once and watched the tire fly up with Stumpy hanging onto the rope for dear life. He was clearly not meant for big heights as he howled in the air, but he needed a bit more excitement in his life anyway, so I kept going. I stepped back whenever the tire swung towards me, as one wrong move would've knocked me on my ass, and continued kicking, sending it further into the air.

Stumpy must've called me to do something, but since he was so far up, I didn't hear him, so when he came down once more, I kicked again, only for Stumpy to fly off and fall into the lake. Face first, flat on his front. Ouch, even I felt that one. Surface tension is a bitch. I waited for him to swim back, and he did, only to start wailing as he climbed up the edge of the bank.

"I told you to slow down! I'm telling Mommy about this!"

I tried to calm him down, but he ran, disappearing into the forest. I shrugged and made my own way to the shore in an attempt to cool off. It was best to leave him be during one of his fits, after all. Brothers, eh?

I wandered through the stony shore again, which must've been the tenth or twentieth time since I met the last human. The summer rays often bored down on the rocks, so it used to burn my paws on the first hundred paces, but it felt nice once I got used to it. Since then, I had been around the island enough times to know where the landmarks were, what little it had, and could've mapped it out if you gave me a pencil and a pad.

Problem was, it was nice and all knowing where everything was in your head, but being able to make it a physical thing would've helped me understand the terrain more. Another problem was marking and remembering each island that looked the closest, which sounded easy. One thing I learnt was that if you put the end of your paw on the horizon and flexed the end of the other to where the height of the island ended, whichever flexed the farthest was the closest. But with no way to mark where each island was in relation to this one and what point you had to be on the shore to be the closest to a neighbouring island, it was just guesswork. Still, it would've been worth a try. I often thought about swimming there and how long it would've taken, though I never acted on it. Still, my own body never betrayed me in the sea, even after swimming for a few hours, so it was possible.

I must've walked for an hour or two on the edge of the shore, and in the midst of it, I got the sense I was being watched. I didn't actually see the perp, but I just felt it, like I felt another aura of something a hundred times bigger than my puny Riolu body. It might've come from the sea, but it was as silent as always, so I ignored it and went on my way until eventually I saw two human-like shapes. I wasn't even sure of what they were from that distance; they could've passed for a couple of tree branches for all I knew, but once I got within a rock throwing distance of them and saw what they truly were, just a young couple sunbathing on the rocks, I retreated back into the forestry.

Despite how much I wanted to stick it to my old Mon, his nagging voice telling me to run drilled into my head and followed me around like a swarm of Combee. Still, I wanted to see what they were up to, even though my heart pounded. I crept carefully through the forest, tip-toeing behind a tree while I watched my movements. They weren't really doing anything you'd consider interesting, just lying in the sun and talking to one another. Even for our own kind, that was something we naturally did, except we couldn't get a tan. Poor us, I guess.

So I tried to get close to them, but long story short, the girl screamed when she saw me and ran away, while the guy shouted at me and ran after her. I considered chasing after them to try and calm them down, but I sensed something else that piqued my interest.

My eyes wandered over to their belongings, which all looked new to me. It was some sort of basket on a blanket with two clear, bowl shaped objects. Of course, not knowing what purpose they had, I couldn't resist picking the shiny clear thing up. The moment I gripped it, it shattered in my paw, leaving shards of light to clatter onto the rocks. They were glasses all along. It's a wonder I didn't cut myself there.

Next, I dug inside the basket, and when I opened the lid, something warm-smelling wafted from its contents. It was food. I licked my lips and stuck my paw inside it, feeling around for the morsel, and when I touched it, I pulled out a half eaten sandwich. The bread had a spongy feel to it, filled with a yellowy sort of substance, which I had to try for myself. I remembered the taste was quite strong, but in a different way from the fishy taste of the Magikarp we were used to having, but either way, it was delicious, and I practically inhaled the rest. It was disappointing to see there wasn't more of it, but then I noticed something else unusual.

It was a larger glass bottle, except with actual liquid inside of it. I lifted it off the ground, except it was a bit heavier than I expected, so I held it in both paws and bolted for the forest with the bottle in tow.

After wandering for a little while, I picked up the aura of all three of my brothers and went to meet them, and Trunks was the first to approach me.

"What do you think you're doing?" he asked, crossing his arms. "You know you shouldn't have gotten near those hu-aliens."

"Never mind that," I said, ignoring bro's self-correction, "look what I found!"

The rest huddled around me, observing the loot.

"Whattisit?" Twig asked.

"Well obviously, it's some sort of drink," I said.

"It could be dangerous!" Stumpy said, looking better from his face-flop into the water.

"How so? The guys I got it from were drinking it."

"Still, you shouldn't have taken it! Oh…" he tugged at his aura sensors. "What're we supposed to do about this?"

I wrung my paw around the bottle of the neck. "Only one way to find out!"

Of course, not knowing how to open it, I struggled with the cap for a bit before it popped and made the two youngest jump. I didn't even hesitate to drink, but when I took a swig from it, I immediately spat it back out.

I might as well tell you it was white wine, and you'll probably find it's not the last time alcohol comes up as a topic of discussion, but we might get to that at some point later.

Anyway, it tasted horrible. Even when I spat it back out, the sting of it lingered on my tongue. Now I genuinely questioned whether or not it was poison. To my surprise, Trunks snatched the bottle and took a big swig out of it, scrunching up his face as he did.

"Tastes alright to me, don't know what you're spitting it out for." He gave me a big smile, the first time in a while I ever saw him do that. There was a slight change in his aura, though nothing too noticeable at first.

Stumpy looked expectantly at the bottle.

"Can I try?"

"Naw, it makes ya do weird things," Trunks said, clutching it in his paws. By then, it started to affect his speech, but that didn't bother him as he took another swig. Then another. And another. At that point, he was struggling to stand still.

"C'mon, whattare y'all looking scared fer? Just join da fun, hehe!"

I can't say I was scared by a lot, but even I backed away when he let go of the bottle and danced in place. It rolled on the ground, spilling some of its contents. Stumpy and Twig joined me in their fear, who both held onto my arm.

"What's happening? Is he okay?" Stumpy said. I just looked on at the scene as Trunks span around, cackling to no one in particular.

I never thought I'd say it, but thankfully, Dad intervened and stormed into the area, picking up the loot.

"Who brought this?" he asked in a serious tone. Pipsqueak and runt both pointed at me, even though they still cowered from behind, the rats.

"Hey!" I yelled. "That's not fair, you two!"

"Enough!" Dad shouted. "You idiot, I told you not to go anywhere near them, and you disobeyed me just like that!"

I just croaked a response, too shocked for words. I had never heard him so riled up at something I did before. Granted, breaking the rules kind of warranted that, but still, it was a tough pill for me to swallow.

"Never mind, now we've got a bit more trouble on our paws, thanks to you." He held up the half empty bottle. "They'll come looking for this, you know, and they're nothing but trouble. All of you, go hide out with your mother. I'll sort this out myself."

"Hol' up!" Trunks said, stumbling into Dad. "Ish' no big deal, I shaw you drink it a few timesh! Help yourshelf if you want!"

"That's enough, pup. Consider this your lesson."

"Wait!" Trunks glared at him. "Shtop calling me that, I shaw what'sh out there, I'm big now, I can take care of theshe cubs!"

"No, you can't. Not enough to control yourself here."

"Ssshut up!" Trunks pointed at him, his face turning from vacant to seething in a flash. "What do you do all day? I hunt! I teach! I play! All for them! One night after dinner ishn't enough! Whatsh your problem?"

"I'm the one protecting them from invaders all the time, you insolent—"

"Stop fighting!" Stumpy cried, standing in between them with tears streaming down his face. "Stop it!"

It didn't take long for Twig to join in the crying game. So, I was caught between two angry Lucario, two sobbing Riolu, and a hard place. At least with all the unrest, Dad had relaxed his stance, tightening his grip around the wine bottle.

"We'll talk about this when you're sober."

Not that I knew what that meant, but Dad walked off with the bottle in tow. I looked back at Trunks who supported himself on some tree bark, then back to the other two who were still sniffling. I felt like joining in with them too.

Basically, I had screwed the pooch on that one. One curiosity taken from outside the island had caused a fight, the first one I had seen between Trunks and Dad. Were things always like that between them? That, I didn't know, but all it took for that mask to slip was one swig of the forbidden fruit juice. Wanting to get out of there and to calm them down, I looked around for signs of Mom, then detected the aura back in the base.

"Mama's close, I can feel it. Follow me!"

With some difficulty, making sure Trunks didn't bonk his head on a branch on the way, we headed back to that safe space. Mom was fiddling with some kind of box when she saw us urchins coming in.

"What's happening now?" she said. Trunks didn't waste any time showing off his drunken self as he attempted to cartwheel over to her but ended up falling on his ass. Mom instantly attended to him, abandoning the box as she lifted him up.

"Are you alright?"

"Yesh, yesh I'm fine, mama! I drank a bit of that shtuff Dad used to drink!"

Her eyes grew wide. While this happened, not knowing what Trunks was going through, my heart sank. It was rare for me to worry about him as he usually carried himself fine, if a bit overbearing, but seeing him like that, I wasn't sure what to expect. I ran up to her, misty-eyed.

"Oh no, is he gonna die? Please tell me he's alright. Mama? Mama?"

Out of nowhere, Mom laughed and pulled me up close to her.

"Oh, he's just tipsy, that's all."

"Tipsy?" I asked, wiping the dust from my eyes.

"Drunk, I mean. Well, it's a bit hard to explain if you weren't with me, but it's what happens when you drink too much of what they call alcohol: your mind gets all fuzzy. It's usually quite toxic to a lot of Pokemon, but we can take it finer than most. How much did he drink?"

"I dunno. A few sips? Or more than that, maybe?"

Her smile faded, but otherwise, she was still calm about the situation.

"Ah, well," she said with a shrug, "he won't be used to that much right now, but otherwise, he'll be fine. He'll just have to get it out of his system, that's all."

"What's that mean?"

"You'll find out soon enough."

We crowded around the two, staying close to Trunks in particular, who held his paw to his stomach and started to groan, then curled up on the grassy floor.

"I don't feel sho hot."

"Alright, alright," Mom repeated, rubbing his head as he laid down. He looked to me and smiled weakly.

"Shorry 'bout all thish. I know I'm annoying shometimesh, barking at you all the time, repeatin' what Dad shaysh like a Chatot. You musht think I'm boring."

I never heard him speak as honestly as he did. I knew this wasn't his usual self, but judging by his aura, I knew it was his true self.

"No, bro. You're great. I know you're just looking out for me, like you do everyone else. And I really like the training and the hunts we do. Just spending it with you is enough."

"Thanksh." He fumbled around before he sat up, looking down at his feet. "I hate thish. Shtaying here all day, all night, nowhere to go. Shorry Mom, I'm grateful for everything we did to come here, but I can't shtand much longer here."

Mom held onto him, hugging him tighter.

"No need to apologise, you're not the only one that thinks that here. Don't you prefer it to having to survive out there, though?"

"Yesh." He paused, then tugged at the appendages at the back of his head. "No. Shure, it'sh miserable. Shure, we losht a lot of friendsh. But we went into the citiesh ash well. We had sho much fun there. We watched a lot of good filmsh. People liked ush as well. What happened to that? Wheresh that in the wild, or on thish rock?"

Mom only smiled, rubbing him reassuringly. Trunks, in his hazy state, pointed to me.

"Thish island'sh not big enough for you, shish. There'sh sho much out there you're misshing. No Pokemon deshervesh this. I-."

He then proceeded to blow chunks all over the floor. Such a pleasant image. Mom nursed him from behind and I looked on, thinking about everything Trunks had said. Even he had my back in this, as hard as it was to make out what he said half the time. My other brothers crept up to me, asking me what he was talking about. I said I didn't know and kept my eyes on getting out of the island as soon as this was over. Even through his slurred speech, it's like he was giving me the go ahead to try and leave.

Trunks calmed down long enough to doze off beside Mom, although his breaths were raspy from all the fluid he hacked up. Even if it wasn't severe, there was still a pang of guilt in my gut. She turned to Stumpy.

"Please get your eldest some water from the lake, and fetch a bucket out of the box. Make sure to take your youngest with you, alright?"

Stumpy nodded. I'm sure he was just relieved to get out of this situation. He got the wooden object out, which was a round shaped thing with a hole in the middle, and went off with the bucket in one paw and Twig's own paw in the other. I turned back to Mom who smiled at me.

"So you stole the bottle off those humans, huh?"

"How did you-"

"Your thoughts don't lie, dear."

"Am I in trouble?"

"Oh, dear, it's no big deal. It's only natural for you to be curious, after all."

"But I went close to those humans after you told me not to. Everyone else chewed me out for it, so yeah."

"Well, like I said, it's complicated. It's mostly your father who wants nothing to do with them, so I will respect that." Mom sighed. "But look, if it wasn't for them, we wouldn't have the sort of stuff we do right now. Why do you think we cook our meals instead of eating them raw?"

"Because it tastes better?"

"Exactly. Plus, that tire swing didn't come from nowhere, we brought it here with us. You see what I mean?"

I shook my head.

"Alright, Pokemon don't usually come up with this stuff, you see. As much as your father hates them, we rely on them for these nice things. If only he didn't act like such a stubborn old Mon sometimes."

She lifted the lid of the box she toyed around with earlier and drew out a tattered block-shaped object, with bits of paper in it surrounded by a hard leather case.

"Besides, where do you think I get my ideas for stories from?"

I looked at it and put two and two together. "From there?"

"Well spotted, my dear. This is a book written by humans from many different ages, called Sinnohan Myths and Fables. Humans have a lot of talents, and making up all sorts of different stories is one of them. These live on for ages, and get passed on from generation to generation. You could say they transcend time itself."

That part lost me, but I was still interested in the rest. She flipped through a few of the pages and while the human writing there was illegible to me, since I couldn't read, I was interested in the pictures, of course. One picture in particular caught me interest, of His White Badness himself, Arceus. Of course, I didn't know much of who he was, although Mom hinted at him in her stories. The one that brought light to the world. The one that carved mountains and created seas. With that divine glow behind him and that otherworldly look of his, he had a very powerful presence, even on a flat surface. She closed the book and put it to one side.

"But my point is, you shouldn't take what Dad says to heart. He means well, but he could do with eating a slice of humble pie every once in a while."

I cocked my head. "Pie? Is that nice?"

"Oh it is, especially the Cheri ones, but that's not the point." She smiled and held my paws. "While I don't want you to break Dad's other rules, I don't agree with him on this one. You're right to ask questions, especially about the outside world. Your big brother can tell you more about it when he's up to speed again. For now-" she patted the top of the box- "take a look in there. That thing's full of human possessions you might like."

I pawed through each of the human oddments there. If I remember correctly, it had stuff like bits of paper, various shiny tools and other loose bits of soft and sharp things. I must've pricked my paw on one of those objects since I drew it out of the box only to find out I cut it. I sucked at the wound and continued to look inside, and what drew my attention the most was a notepad. I picked it out of the box out of all the items there and shook it around a little as sheets of paper waved in the air. I closed it and brought it to her as she smiled.

"You can draw on that, dear."

"Draw? Like with the stones on the rocks?"

"Exactly, though you'd tear through the paper if you did it with those. You can use lots of other things to draw on it as well. We actually have crayons if you want to use them; you'll find them in the smaller box, dear."

She held it for me as I got the crayons out, and I looked at them for a bit. They had all sorts of colours there I had never even seen before, like purple, would you believe I never saw purple before? All of them were so bright and kind of appetizing. Without thinking, I placed one in my mouth before spitting it back out.

"They're made of wax dear, that's not edible. We don't need another sick Pokemon tonight."

Again, I never said I was a smart kid, but still, you see something like that and you just want to eat it even though you probably shouldn't. Oh well. Natural selection will weed that out eventually when a dumber Riolu ends up choking to death on one.

Anyway, I took out more of the other colours I liked and placed them next to the pad. I didn't know what to do next. Mom threw me a bone and showed me what to do by taking one of the crayons and making a squiggly blue line with it on the paper. It wasn't much, but to my young eyes, it was impressive. I snatched the crayon out of her paw and drew whatever came to mind: a scribbly blue sky that filled the entire page. Seemed simple, but to me at the time, it was like magic. Then she put everything back and handed it over to me.

"I was saving this for when you were older, but really, you should have something else to do on this island. It's sad seeing you wandering around after the hunts without a purpose." She let it go in my paws and I must've looked at her as if I saw Arceus' face on a piece of tree bark.

"Can I keep it?"

"It's all yours."

I jumped over to her, dropping everything I had in my paws to hug her. It was a much needed bright spot in the endless stretch of days that went nowhere. She returned it, squeezing me tight, and I made random scribbles as I stayed with her until my other brothers came with their water. The rest of the night passed with ease as I watched my brother come to his senses, albeit groggily. After dinner, some of his energy restored, but after that, we decided to leave storytelling for another night and settled down.

I slept clutching my new present like a pillow. It was the first thing I had to call my own, really.

The next day, Trunks woke up with a groan and felt physically exhausted all day, so we had to do most of the work for him. When asked about last night's incident, he distanced himself from the subject. Strangely enough, when I saw Dad next, his breath smelled of the same stuff Trunks drank.


	12. That Sinking Feeling

Soon enough, I made my own maps with the paper Mom gave me, so I walked through and started marking any island I saw. I flexed my paws to measure it as I explained before, and moved onto the next one, marking each one as a 2D object on a flat surface without actually knowing any of the concepts. Somehow, I knew, even if I didn't fully understand it. Primitive, sure, but think back to when you were a kid and there was that same magic of discovery. I'd do anything to capture that magic as an adult now, but oh well, I try. I must've been halfway done, occupied in my own little world before Stumpy came out of the forest and threw me off whack.

"What're you doing?" he asked.

"Drawin' this place." I showed him the progress I made.

"That looks nothing like here."

"Well duh, it's like it's flat, y'know."

"No, I don't know." He squinted. "You're not up to something again, are you?"

"Of course not." I didn't want to outright shoo him away, but I didn't want him following me around either. Not sure what to do, I just walked for a while. I guess he must've gotten bored since he disappeared into the trees, so I was left to my own devices again, sketching the day away. Sometimes, I'd stop and draw a rock or a little patch of grass, wanting to see how it would look on paper.

Once the sky turned a dusky red and I had filled up a few pages, I was satisfied with my findings and got back to base to quell the beast in my stomach.

I don't need to mention what I ate. Hell, I think at that point, I ate so much fish I was ready to grow gills soon. Afterwards, Trunks and Stumpy crowded around me to look at my findings, and I figured it would shut Stumpy up if I went through it with him, so I shared my process.

"Still doesn't look like an island to me," he said. I just blew a Razzberry at him.

"Well," Trunks said, tracing his paw over the paper. "It's impressive you managed to do this. I actually saw maps back at the..." He trailed off, looking at Stumpy. I guess he remembered he wasn't supposed to tell anyone else. "You know what."

"What do you mean by that?" Stumpy asked, never afraid to ask the bleeding obvious.

"Never mind. Still, keep going at it."

He handed back the pad with a smile.

"What else have you drawn?"

My maw hung open as I stared back at the pad. I had built up quite the gallery since then, but I didn't think to show it to anyone else. It was my secret. Well, not so secret considering I had nowhere else to hide it, but my family hadn't really asked what I did inside it. Trunks was different though, as he generally took more notice of me since that incident. I flicked through the pages and showed him each drawing I made. I don't remember a whole lot of it aside from what I sketched of the sorts of rocks and trees I passed by. None of it was particularly good, even for a Pokemon, and it probably would've had more worth being used as toilet paper, but they were my own trashy drawings to claim and no one else's. I created them, so that's what gave them their power.

Seeing this, Trunks patted me on the back and told me they were all good. Now, lil' me couldn't really tell the difference between a master's painting and a messy clash of colours, but I knew from his aura he was being genuine. Then, what he suggested next took me off guard.

"Do you think you could draw me?"

And so the stage was set. Me and Trunks went to our usual hangout spot by the lake, and he sat down in a cross-legged pose by the bank while I sat away from him, crayon in paw. His ability to sit still for hours on end made him the perfect subject. I looked at him and paused. There was going to be a little bit of trouble getting him on a flat surface. Maps were easier to draw as it was abstract, but since I had to draw a living, breathing thing, I had the same problem as I did before translating it onto paper.

Out of impulse, I held the crayon in front of him, measuring him with the wax stick, and marked two spots on the paper where I started with the ears and end with his bottom. I squinted my eyes, trying to make sense of his form, and drew three circles on the paper: one for the head, one for the body, and one for the bottom. Then I drew a few lines connecting each of them together. When I put it like that, it sounded like I knew what I was doing, but trust me, I didn't.

You know when you start out, you draw what you think you see instead of what you actually see? It's kind of like that. I don't remember who said that, but anyway, the limbs looked broken, and Trunks ended up looked like he was missing a few chromosomes. I compared my drawing to the actual thing in front of me and frowned.

"Are you done?" he said. I nodded, and he came over to peek at my disasterpiece.

"That doesn't look half bad."

"Really?" I said, pointing to all my mistakes. "I made you look kinda goofy."

"Well, er..." He nervously smiled. I could tell he wanted to avoid criticising my work.

"I know it looks pretty bad, bro, you don't hafta lie to me."

He gave a relieved sigh and patted me on the back.

"Okay, you're right, it could use some work, but it's better than anything I could've done. I could barely draw a stick figure."

I cocked my head, trying to figure out what he was talking about, but shrugged it off.

"If you keep at it," he said, "I'm sure you can make something good."

"You think so?"

"It all comes with practice. Think of it like training your aura, when you eventually get to that stage." Trunks stood in that familiar battle stance. "You exercise your body like you'd exercise your mind when drawing, and when it comes to using it, you channel the world's energy inside you like the references you've collected, like so." He clapped his paws together and closed his eyes, casting a blue glow around him. "Then, once you feel like you've gathered enough energy, or enough of an understanding of what you're looking at..."

At last, he presented an aura sphere and shot it at the tree, creating a blast that sent the leaves flying like knives in the air.

"Of course, mine was only the size of a pebble when I started out, just like yours, so like I said, it all comes with practice. You understand?"

I set the pad to the side and nodded. Actually, a lot of it flew over my head, as I couldn't understand what he was trying to relate to. The fundamentals of art are much different than shooting magic spheres out of your hands like some sort of wizard. But I felt the sentiment anyway. Then, something else came to mind.

"Hey, bro, Mom said I could talk to you a bit more about the humans. I know you told me it was hard out there, but..."

I didn't really know what else to say, though Trunks got the gist of it and his expression softened.

"Yes, ask me anything."

"So..." I grabbed the pad again and turned it over in my paws. "Humans made this as well, right? Why? I like doin' it, but… do lots of humans draw? Is that why they make them? They don't need it to survive, do they?"

"Well, we don't need a tire swing to survive either." He pointed at the rubber donut that swayed back and forth in the wind. "And yet it's a part of our life here. We need play as much as any other human would. Same with that." He meant the sketchpad. "Some humans like to draw and sketch out the ideas they have in their head. Some can even get so good, they can survive off of the art they make alone."

That was entirely new to me. So, they hunted by drawing stuff? What sense did that make? It was all new to me, but maybe humans had more survival techniques than I thought. They didn't need Pokemon to do the dirty work for them by hunting and gathering.

Wow, I sound like a caveman there.

"Could I do that too?" I asked.

That took him by surprise. In fact, he seemed saddened by it, from the way his aura projected itself, and his face said as much as he frowned.

"I'm… not sure." He sat down and sighed, looking through my sketches again. "I don't know if any Pokemon has done it before."

That would've brought me down if he hadn't recovered and passed the pad back to me.

"But," he said, smiling again, "if there is a way, then I'd love to find out and teach you how. I'd teach you everything if it wasn't-"

He cut himself off and looked to the side, aura intensifying. So, I had hit a sore spot, but didn't know why or how. I knew it wasn't my fault, but still, out of guilt, or at least some sort of sympathy, I hugged him, and he hugged me back. We didn't talk any more after that, but we were at peace with one another.

* * *

You could say Trunks inspired me since after that, I went on my own to draw again, just doing random scribbles that didn't mean anything, but nonetheless felt important. When you have nothing else, you tend to use it as an escape, after all. My memories drifted off to the speech Trunks gave me, to the time Mom gave me that pad in the first place on the night I pilfered that wine off those humans. It had been a while since I saw one of them, so I got the idea to draw one completely by memory.

I remembered they had tiny heads, and clothes, and hair, and all sorts of stuff, but without a visual reference, in the end, they looked more like the aliens Mom talked about in her poem than anything resembling an actual human. I was completely on my own until Dad appeared from behind the trees, and when I saw that hardened, permanently-frowning face, I closed the pad.

"Hello, pup," he said as he approached. "What are you up to this time?"

With anyone else, I probably would've shown them without hesitation as they would've been respectful about it. With Dad however, something was… different. I didn't know how to put a paw on it at the time, but since that wine incident, things weren't exactly the same.

"N-Nothin'."

His face turned more sour. "You must never lie to a Lucario. I've let you be on your own with that sketchpad for a while. Now show me what you've been doing."

He played that card whenever we hid something from him. I'd find out later that it's a common saying in the mainland, and a rule even you humans should follow if you don't want a spike shoved up your rear end. Nevertheless, I clutched the pad, not wanting him to look, but at that point, Dad growled with fury, grabbing me with those meaty paws of his while I struggled in his grasp.

"Let me go!"

"I'm having none of that, thank you." At last, he snatched the pad off me and flicked through it, page by page. He said nothing, ignoring my attempts to snatch it back, then his eyes dilated at one of my drawings. He turned the pad over, presenting that botched drawing.

"Pup, what is this?"

"Um..." I stared at the page, figuring out what to say next. "It's a human. It doesn't look anythin' like it though, I kinda messed up the body. I—"

RRR-IP! My heart stopped when Dad tore the page out the pad then crumpled it up in his paws, casually tossing it behind him.

"No more drawing from now on. I'm taking this thing away, understood?"

I didn't understand. Even for him, that was out of the blue, but my heart drove me forward. At that moment, I pounced on him.

"Give it back!" I shouted.

"Don't be so daft, girl! It's for your own good!"

He pulled it even further away and I tried to climb up, hoping I would get to it that time. Nope. He picked me up, and out of nowhere, just tossed me to the ground, head first. Now that hurt. In a quick daze, I crawled away from him like the kicked Riolu I was. It was probably because of the shock of being thrown to the floor, but I bawled. He approached me with that murderous look in his eyes again. Clearly, I had already ticked him off and there was no way out, so I ran to the shore, wailing like there was no tomorrow.

So yeah, that went well. Wah-wah. Looking back on it, the whole thing was stupid from both sides. He never needed to go that far with confiscating my stuff, though I didn't need to react the way I did either. There were worse things I could've cried over than a crumpled up drawing, like nearly losing a loved one to an infected leg, for instance. Again, I wasn't a smart kid, and kids are generally stupid and emotional, but as a word of advice, if you ever plan on having them, that's something you shouldn't do to a kid, punish them when they haven't done anything wrong because of your own personal issues, or chuck them around like a football.

Look at me, giving parental advice. Is this what I've come to these days?

But yeah, I ended up running to the shore, stewing in my own self-pity. Dad snatched away the one thing I took pride in doing, so I had nothing to express myself with, no map to find my way out of the island, nothing. I considered everything that happened up until that point, with the way Dad behaved around humans and how everyone else seemed to be against that.

Another island sat further away from the shore. Even through my misty eyes, I identified that island was the one I marked as the closest on the map, or maybe the second closest, but I didn't care, so I stood up anyway. Being on that rock was suffocating. I wanted to escape.

With nowhere else to run to, it was sink or swim.

It probably wouldn't have been the last time I saw them. If I could've made it across there, I probably could've gotten back, after all. Still, I put a paw on my chest, feeling each beat and waiting for the right time to leave. Once it slowed down, with calmed nerves, I took the first dive.

Although I was only told to swim a certain distance, I knew I could've endured it for a long time without stopping. I mean, what could I say? I was a bored kid. If things were different and I didn't have this damn arm dragging me down, I'm sure I could swim even longer now.

I kept a steady pace, going slow enough to keep my breathing in check while fast enough to see some progress. Eventually, the far away islands came into view, and I even saw a few Pokemon travelling through the sea. I knew I wasn't completely isolated then as many other Pokemon were travelling the same way I was. I was getting closer and closer to the other island in front of me, I felt it.

Something nipped my paws. I didn't stop to check out what it was as it felt like a little nibble at first, then it almost pulled me underwater. I stopped, kicking whatever clutched onto my leg off my feet and continued my venture forward. Then it dragged me into the sea.

Around my feet, through the eye-burning salt water, a school of Magikarp swarmed around my legs, sucking my skin and swishing their tails in the water to pull me further downward. I couldn't even hold my breath; it took me that much by surprise. I needed to get back to the surface. I punched at them in an attempt to ward them away, and it succeeded as I socked one Magikarp in the face and a few dispersed, although some still stuck onto my legs. That gave me leeway enough to rise above, and I gasped for air. I knew at that point I was screwed. In my panic, I screamed for help, splashing out to make a scene while I could still swim. I didn't know how it would help as I couldn't see anyone or anything around me that could come to my rescue.

Then even more mouths pulled me downwards, and the only thing I could've done to save a bit of time was hold my breath. What dragged me down was less like a school and more like a university, if that's even an expression you humans use. I struggled to move as they dragged me deeper underwater. I couldn't hold my breath for much longer. I saw a huge shadow from far away, but couldn't make out what it was. Slowly, I opened my mouth, and eventually my thoughts drifted away as I slept with the fishes.

You know, I managed to get my paws on a trivia book in GeL once I learned how to read. Apparently, it takes a minute and a half for a small Pokemon, particularly a Riolu like me to drown. Even if you survive by some miracle, you're lucky if brain damage doesn't set in around that time. When I look back at all the close calls I've had in my life, sometimes, I think about that random fact and that feeling still hasn't left me whenever I remember the time I almost drowned there. With no one around to help in the middle of nowhere, I was sure I was dead. Maybe I did die and I could've been a ghost this whole time. Plot twist.

Oh, that joke didn't land? Alright then, I'll continue.

Next thing I knew, I wasn't entirely awake, but something clamped down at my chest and bitter water rose from my throat. It kept punching at that area, although I couldn't piece together why until I coughed up a stream of water. Suddenly, I could breathe again. The fresh air tasted much sweeter after almost losing it forever. It took a while for me to find my bearings as I caught my breath, but once I came to, I opened my eyes and saw two figures in front of me. It was an Azumarill, although I didn't know it yet, and a human. Another human! Before I could really get a glimpse of his features, the Azumarill came up to me first and held my paw.

"Are you alright?" he said.

I wasn't too sure about what just happened, although I could speak.

"Yeah, thanks."

He just nodded and repeated what I said in the human tongue, which I didn't understand at first. Okay, that was odd to say at the least. I let the situation play itself until I understood where I was, and in that time, the human talked back to him, although I could only piece together a few sounds, and the Azumarill nodded.

"He says you're breathing fine anyway. Do you need a paw?"

"Please," I said. He helped me up to my feet and I got a better understanding of my surroundings. We were on some sort of metal contraption, which I now know as a boat, sitting between two islands. The next thing I noticed was that my teeth were chattering. A gust of wind blew through me and I cuddled myself in an attempt to feel warm. In response, the Azumarill gathered a few towels for me to wrap myself in, which helped a little, although I was still dripping wet.

"Would you like some cocoa?" that blue rabbit asked.

"Cocoa?" I repeated, confused.

"Yeah, it's a hot drink. It'll help you keep warm. You'll see."

I nodded and the rabbit spoke to the human, who prepared something from some sort of flask.

"Are you lost?" he asked, wrapping a paw around me for comfort. I shook my head and pointed back to home.

"That's where I live, over there." Then it dawned on me. "Aw, crud. They're probably thinking I drowned or somethin'."

"Don't fret, we'll get you back safely. I did wonder what a Riolu was doing in the middle of the ocean." He chuckled and relayed the information back to his trainer. That's when I prodded him in his side, getting his attention back.

"How are you doing all of this? Mama said it's usually the trainers that order their Pokemon to do stuff, not the other way around."

He just smiled and flicked one of his ears back.

"I've been speaking human for years."

"Can you really do that though? I know Papa could speak a few words, but I didn't know you could speak that well through it."

"Why of course. It's a skill you can learn like any other."

"Then how come I can't understand half of what he says?"

"It's a little complicated, but it takes some getting used to if you haven't lived around them."

I just mumbled in reply. He looked to the far-away island.

"It looks like a nice place."

"Well, kinda. It's pretty boring, to be honest. That's kinda why I swam away, ya know, to see if I could get to the mainland. Plus Papa was kind of a jerk."

"How so?"

"Well, he crumpled up my drawing just because it had a human on it."

"You draw?"

"Yeah. I suck at it though."

"Well, no one starts off like a Smeargle."

I didn't know what that meant, although I gathered it was a compliment, so I nodded. It wasn't long after that the human knelt in front of me and offered me a cup of that cocoa. It was weird for me to look at as it wasn't like anything I had seen before: brown with a bit of white at the top, but I guessed it was safe to drink. It was warm like sunshine in a bottle.

The human made a blowing sound, gesturing towards the mug, which told me the thing was hot. We'd used to blow on those kebabs whenever they got too hot as well, so I understood his expressions. Knowing dumb lil' me, I probably would've chugged it if he hadn't told me that way, so I carefully held it to my lips, trying not to drop it as I took a sip. It was unlike anything I tasted before: smooth and sweet. Warmth coursed through my body as that cocoa flowed through me.

"Thanks a bunch," I said.

"You like it?" The Azumarill said.

"Do I ever!"

From there, he asked me a bit more about my predicament and I talked about wanting to escape the island and find out what the humans were up to, in between sips of that cocoa, of course. Again, Azumarill went back and forth with his trainer, so most of it was lost on me. It seemed friendly though, not like the sort of way Dad made them out to be. After a moment, he turned to me and smiled.

"Do you know what a school is, miss Riolu?"

I rubbed my chin. "Sorta? Mama said somethin' about it once in one of her stories, like a school of fish, or Magikarp." That last word sent a chill down my spine, considering I had nearly shuffled off the mortal coil thanks to them.

"That's right. It's where people teach each other things, like how to read or draw. It's what most humans like my trainer here experienced when they were young like you. And we want to do the same for Pokemon. Pokemon like you."

Here it comes. The Azumarill outstretched his paw and held mine in his.

"Miss Riolu, would you like to learn these things as well?"

I was, well, let's just say flabbergasted. "Wha?"

"We want to teach you Pokemon how the world works." He looked to the sea where a bunch of Finneon fluttered from the surface of the water. "Most wild Pokemon don't get the chance to, but we see your potential. You seem smart, naturally curious and eager to learn."

Was I? I didn't want to give myself too much credit yet.

"You'll get to see the rest of the world as well as stand alongside humans as equals. If you come with us, you'd get the chance of a lifetime."

"I..."

I itched to say yes. It was my chance to venture the world like I had planned for months, to hang around the humans and see what my brother had seen, but then it struck me. If I took that offer right then and there, then what? It seemed too easy, as if the two had appeared out of thin air to take me out on a silver carriage, or boat as it were. Plus, there was still my family. My father could've gotten stuffed if he didn't agree with me, but what would the rest say? Would it mean not seeing them again? I pulled away from the Azumarill and gulped the last of the drink down, which had turned lukewarm. My heart kind of skipped a beat there, and then, I was a bit scared, clutching the cup for comfort.

I was away from everyone else with two strangers. They could've done anything to me. They could've whisked me away right then and there. And yet, Azumarill must've seen the hesitation in my face as he frowned.

"Sorry. I realise this is too much to ask at this moment. You have family on the island, don't you?"

I slowly nodded.

"Well, I think it would be better if we returned you there for now. We can talk about it the next day, possibly with the rest of your family to see what they think. I'd rather everyone be happy here."

That eased my nerves a bit. Gradually, I relented and looked back to my island again.

"I do wanna learn, like Bro said, but I hafta think about it."

"Fair enough."

He gestured to the human who took control of the wheel and the engine whirred, making me drop my empty cup.

"No need to fret," Azumarill said, "that's just what powers this boat you're standing on."

I nodded, feeling myself flush red.

"Oh!" he exclaimed, "How rude of me! Ahem." He stood in the middle, ears proudly sticking up in the air. "I'm an Azumarill, but you may call me Azzy, and here's my partner, Mack!"

Mack, the human, just waved his hand as he steered the boat. Again, names were an odd thing for us Pokemon, and hearing the Azumarill repeat his own name got me thinking about what I would call myself. Nothing came to mind. I couldn't think of anything that would fit me as I was just Riolu. That was what I always was.


	13. The Reason We're Here, I Guess

My family waited with bated breath for me to arrive on the shore. To sum it up, Dad got his blue panties in a bunch about the pair on the boat, but when Azzy explained himself, he only nodded and thanked them before telling them to leave. I waved back at them as they set sail, and once everyone was done giving me affectionate hugs and kisses, thanking the White God I was safe, Dad grounded me from the shore.

Of course, that didn't stop me since I had plans later on. You could never keep me in one place for too long after all. Thoughts of the duo stayed with me all day, and over a quiet dinner, I considered what Azzy had said.

I had a definite chance to escape that time. I was given the opportunity to eat something else other than fish all day, everyday, to do something else other than lounge about all day, everyday, and possibly meet new people rather than being stuck with my family, all day, everyday. Even without that, the chance to learn the human tongue enticed me. I thought back to my previous encounters and how nice it would've been to speak for myself. Maybe things could've been different with that Prinplup encounter had I explained myself to their trainer and smoothed things out with Dad. Maybe I could've understood why that crazy couple was so scared of me. All of that sold me on paper.

In actuality, though, a weight clamped down on my chest. And no, it wasn't due to almost drowning, but the prospect of never seeing my family again if it meant going away. I didn't have anything against the rest of my siblings or even Dad, but I could've done without them. Trunks and Mom, though, were the only ones that showed me proper support. If I didn't have them around, I wouldn't know who else to turn to.

I carried those thoughts with me even past dinner and throughout story time, and as I tried to go to sleep, I tossed and turned in my patch of grass.

Trunks took the hint something was up since he patted my side, waking me up out of my half-sleep.

"Do you want to talk about this in our usual spot?"

The lake it was. At that time, everything was pitch black. We tiptoed through the forestry, listening for the different sounds in the terrain to guide us there, and I guess I must've taken one step forward too many as Trunks held me back from falling into the drink. We sat by the bank as I coursed my paw through the surface of the darkened water. Even in the night, I got a good look at bro's face, which was a bit apprehensive.

"You're thinking about escaping with the couple that brought you back," Trunks said.

"Nothing gets past you."

"You're set to meet them again tomorrow, is that it?"

"Yeah, and?"

"And..." he trailed off, rubbing his paws, "I want to come with you."

"Off the island?"

"No, just with them. I want to see what they have planned for you. Think, sis-" he placed his paw on my lap- "don't you think it sounds suspicious?"

"Maybe. Well, they did save me, after all."

"True. But, let's say you did get off the island with them and they kept their promise about teaching you whatever it is that needed teaching. You might not have the chance to see us again."

"I know that." I sighed. "Sorry, bro, It's not like I don't..." I trailed off. It wasn't like I wanted to leave them behind. With bro there, I felt bad for even considering it, but I also felt trapped there, and that things were getting worse. I took my legs out of the water and cuddled them for comfort. "I dunno what to do."

"Well," Trunks said, patting my shoulder, "we'll find out tomorrow. Maybe we should rest on it for now, okay?"

"I-I can't. I dunno if I can sleep tonight. I keep thinkin' and thinkin' and-"

"Here." He held my paws together and smiled. "I know a trick. Can you count? I think I might've taught you how."

I held my paw out in front of me and remembered I had three digits. "So one, two, three." I flexed each digit down.

"Yes. Try to do it in your head-" to punctuate this, he tapped his temple- "and go one Mareep, two Mareep, three Mareep..."

* * *

That trick worked. I was able to sleep easily that night, but awoke to the rain the next day. Everyone except for Dad huddled under a tarp roof; another human invention we mostly took for granted. As the air was considerably chillier, the two youngest clutched Mom for warmth, while Trunks stayed by my side, making sure I was comfortable.

"Mom," Trunks asked, "did you get that thing back?"

"Oh yeah, hold on." She reached into her curiosity box, and to my surprise, handed me back the sketchpad. I grabbed it instantly, clutching it like a Magikarp.

"Thanks, Mama!" I said. "But… why? Didn't Papa take it away?"

"Never mind L-, I mean, your father," she said. Before I had the chance to ask why she hesitated, she continued. "I'm not having any of his attitude. If he does something like that again, just know me and your brother have your back, got that?"

My worries from yesterday lifted, and I went over to hug her, fighting for space alongside those two shivering urchins.

"Where is he anyway?" Trunks said. "I can't imagine he'd be comfortable out in the rain like this."

"Oh, who knows? He's probably off brooding in a ditch somewhere. Just let him be, I'd rather not deal with him when he's like this."

"So you were arguing again." There was sadness in Trunks' tone.

"Sorry. I know it's hard on you, but please, hold on a little while longer. I don't want things to end badly between me and him."

Trunks stayed silent. I didn't really understand the turmoil surrounding Mom and Dad at that time, but with the strong presence of the aura floating around, I couldn't help but feel saddened as well. That changed when Trunks patted my back, taking me by surprise. He held out some sort of contraption, presumably from that box, and stood up.

"Mom, we're going to the shore. I know she's grounded, but there's business to take care of."

She winked at the both of us, and from that, I understood she kept her word when she had my back. We weaved through the forest, where the storm pitter-pattered against the treetops, providing us with shelter at first. Once we were out in the open, we would've been pelted by the rain if Trunks hadn't opened that contraption, which expanded to create a barrier from the storm, like the tarp in the base. Of course, it was an umbrella, but I didn't know that yet. We both sat on the rocks, Trunks holding the umbrella over us both while I doodled the time away. He'd make the occasional grunt of approval here and there at my work, but for the most part, we just soaked in the silence, literally.

The waves crashed against my paws, shocking me with its sudden iciness. Trunks took my hand and moved me back a few paces. In front of us, the ocean seemed to wobble like jelly, making all sorts of tiny movements until a huge head emerged from the surface.

Blue, with a crown-like appendage sticking out of its forehead, and with its body snaking out behind it as large white fins on its back popped out as well. Dozens of Magikarp popped out of the water too, staring daggers at us, if fish daggers were a thing. Images of the drowning incident flashed in my head, and my mind raced to all sorts of conclusions.

The Magikarp had probably summoned their pack leader, or whatever, and after their failed attempt to get their own back at me for eating their kind, they probably wanted revenge. With this huge, screw-off monster by their side, we wouldn't have been any match for them. We were doomed. And so, we were all gobbled up in turn, falling into a watery grave.

Just kidding. Instead, the monster's red eyes widened and smiled through its large mouth.

"Ah, how are you, my boy? I haven't seen you since you were a Riolu!" he said in a deep yet friendly tone. In response, Trunks bowed to him, and oddly enough, pinched my side in an effort for me to do the same.

"I've been better, Cecrops."

"Cecrops? What crops? W-what's going on?"

"And you, girl." He poked his head closer to the shore. I would've bolted if Trunks hadn't held me back. "I believe you were still an egg when I last visited. My, you've certainly grown. And look at those lovely green eyes as well! You clearly took after her!"

"W-wait!" I turned to Trunks, wanting answers right away. "H-he knows us?"

"Oh." Trunks held both of my shoulders. "I should explain. Do you remember the story Mom told you about the sea serpent?"

It didn't hit me right away, but when I recited the poem in my head, I squealed in surprise.

"He is a legend in some way, but that's beside the point. Long ago, before you hatched, this Gyarados helped carry us over to this island. It was mostly Dad's decision, but me and Mom wanted to get away from the mainland too for a little bit, so we hopped on his back, he led us here, and left." He glanced over to the giant head, which was still jarring to look at. "I thought I smelled a fishy aura here."

Cecrops guffawed. "Indeed, you did! I have been busy, visiting Alola with my students, but I thought I'd pay some of the other island residents a visit as well. All of them are living peacefully."

"Wait," I said, "there's more of us on those other islands?"

"Indeed. Not just you Pokemon, but humans too. They really like their remote hideouts."

So I hadn't been far away from them the whole time. If I'd known that before, I would've swum over there long ago, but then I took the Magikarp attack into account. I stared at each of his supposed students, who watched us expectantly, and suddenly, my stomach twisted into knots. If they were the same Magikarp we'd feasted on the whole time, then they were probably responsible for swarming over me as well. I fell to my knees, doubling over in guilt.

"P-please don't eat me."

"Oh, child," Cecrops said, "whatever are you talking about?"

"I, no, we've been eatin' those Magikarp the whole time without a second thought! Isn't that why you attacked me?"

His Magikarp school gave each other weird looks.

"Oh, no, don't be silly. They weren't responsible for it. I can assure you, none of my students have ever been close to any of the islands without my say-so. They know the risks if they stray too far. They all have developing minds of their own, even if they can only vocalise underwater."

"But what about the rest?"

"I can explain." The Gyarados frowned. "There are fish farms owned by humans all over Sinnoh, which are enclosed spaces for the purpose of growing and harvesting livestock. Magikarp are considered one of them. They're bred in the farms for the purpose of being cooked one day, and being engineered at birth, they're nothing more than mindless beasts, incapable of thought, just like the livestock bred on the mainland as well." He lowered his head along with his tone, staring at the rippling water. "Those that escape swim the seas with no purpose other than to survive, and don't listen to my warnings. The ones from there probably saw you as a threat and attacked you."

"Fish. Farms." His explanation probably made me more nauseous. My throat tensed, and bro was there to make sure I didn't heave or anything. It was a lot to take in at once. I couldn't grasp the scale of those supposed fish farms, or the concept of breeding Pokemon specifically to be eaten. I didn't want to know any more.

"Stop, please," Trunks said. "Sis wouldn't know a lot about that yet, she's barely aware of the human world as is."

"Alright, I apologise." Cecrops craned his head to me next. "Child, I hope you can forgive us for what happened. I would've saved you anyway if that Azumarill hadn't cast that bubble first. If you had drowned and one of my pupils were responsible, I would be ashamed."

After calming myself down, I looked at Cecrops once more and nodded.

"It wasn't your fault. I wanna apologise for eatin' those Magikarp, too. It can't be nice, knowing what people are doin' to them."

He gave a hollow chuckle. "I've accepted that fact long ago. It's just the cycle of life, or the great chain of being, if you believe in the White God's rule. But maybe, that's a bit too much for you to grasp." He lowered his forehead to the shore, gesturing me to touch it. I ran my paw through the scales, which were rough, but smooth at the same time, and even in the rain, they glowed like crystals. "You are a kind soul, however. That will get you very far in the right places, even in wild territories. If you ever find yourself in trouble at sea again, I will come to your aid."

I opened my mouth to speak, but suddenly, Cecrops backed away, and his pupils disappeared underwater.

"We appear to have more visitors. Well, I will be around Sinnoh, so I will catch up with you again later, fellow Lucario and Riolu. I wish the best for both you children, and the rest of the family."

We waved him goodbye and he disappeared into the water along with his students, leaving us two, the pattering rain on the sea, and the boat from before heading towards us. Somehow, the prospect of two complete strangers visiting our island was even less of a surprise than this huge sea serpent popping up out of nowhere. That blue rabbit was the first to step off the boat as he approached us. His human had a yellow raincoat on, but being the water-type he was, Azzy probably thrived in those wet conditions.

"Well!" he said, "imagine seeing that Gyarados again, but hello there!" He smiled to me first, then looked to Trunks. "And you must be her father?"

"Brother," he said, crossing his arms.

"Ah, sorry, now I remember." His ears twitched as he looked over to the forest behind us. "What about the rest of your family?"

"Never mind that, I'll stand in for them. Let me just say this, though." Trunks glared at them both, baring his fangs. "If you and that human are up to no good, especially towards Sis here, I'll show no mercy. I'll know in an instant."

"If we were up to anything like that, you would've known by now, I can assure you. But, hmm, are you fine with just your brother, Miss Riolu?"

"I don't mind," I said.

"Good. Well, hope on board then, you two."

He led the way to the deck as we stepped off of the shore, guiding us to the inner part of the boat, which was protected from the rain. That tapping against the roof was somewhat soothing, but not so soothing as the aroma in the middle of the deck. There was a table where a basket lay with that familiar cocoa flask. My mouth was watering already.

"Are you taking us away from here?" Trunks asked, leering at Azzy.

"There's not much reason to. We only just came here to talk."

"Then tell that human to power the boat and find a spot in the middle of the sea. There's someone on the island that might interrupt us if we hang around here. Can you do that?"

I gathered he meant Dad. In any case, Azzy nodded and went to the upper deck where Mack commanded over the boat. While he was gone, I steadied myself on the seat, trying not to feel dizzy with how the room rocked back and forth, even more so when it powered up, taking us away from the island. Once I calmed my nerves, I kept staring at the middle of the table. There was clearly food in there with a distinct scent different from the Magikarp, but it hadn't been opened yet. I almost reached my paw out to reveal its contents when Trunks tapped my wrist. I resisted long enough for the blue rabbit to return, joining us on the table.

"Now. I was kind of hoping the rest of your family could've shared this, but we brought something you both might like anyway."

He opened the basket to reveal lots of different kinds of foodstuffs. Well, maybe not lots, but lots considering what I usually ate before then. There were sandwiches, rice cakes, different types of berries, Pokepuffs, poffins, wrapped candy, you name it. Maybe more. You could've probably fed a Snorlax with that much food. Heck, I could've turned into one if it meant gobbling up all that grub.

"Would you like to dig in?"

"Woah," I said, pointing at every item on display, "is this all for us?"

"But of course, there's plenty to go around."

It didn't take long for me to stuff my face with sandwiches. They tasted different to the ones I had before, except a bit meatier, but still, I enjoyed it, and waved a bit of bread to Trunks.

"Haff some, ith goof."

"I'll pass," he replied, waving a paw dismissively. I shrugged, continuing my sandwich binge, and Azzy helped himself to a riceball.

"I take it you like those then?" he said.

"Love 'em. Much better than the stinkin' fish we usually have."

"Oh please," Trunks said, "they're hardly stinking at all." He put up that tough act, sure, but in truth, he hungrily stared down the feast before us. I knew from his aura he longed for it, but was just waiting for the right moment to join in.

"Whatever," I said, wolfing down another sandwich.

"Ahem," Azzy said. "Is there anything you'd like, mister Lucario? We have chocolate."

Snap. Like a fire lighting up in his head, Trunks cast his glum self aside and licked his lips.

"W-where?"

"Right here." Azzy retrieved a bar and gave it to Trunks. The instant he got his paws on it, he tore through the wrapper and bit off a huge chunk for himself. He looked the happiest since I got him drunk off his ass earlier on. Naturally, I asked for some too. He shook himself out of his choco-coma and broke off a piece for me to try. Need I say more about what I thought of it?

Oh, and if you're wondering, a way to a Lucario's heart is through chocolate. It works for both men and us ladies.

 **(Sorry to interrupt so out of the blue like this, but that's a myth.)**

Uh, Shine?

 **(Wait, Curio, I need to say this. The chocolate is only made to be addictive to your kind in particular because of that whole product placement with Lucario and the Mystery of Mew. Since its appearance in that film, they made a new recipe to appeal to the Lucario crowd with their trainers, then their sales tripled and now that brand owns the monopoly on chocolate manufacturing worldwide. Nothing sells chocolate faster than a dead Lucario, I suppose. Sorry, I get so riled up whenever I think about that.)**

Okay. You could've just let me have this, Shine, but I guess that's another perfectly innocent thing that's forever ruined for me. Well anyway.

The boat must've stopped since Mack sat down with us, no longer at the helm. He got himself a sandwich and told Azzy something, although I couldn't hear what, and Trunks kept his guard, albeit with chocolate melting in his paw.

"So, mister Lucario," Azzy said, "we're a part of an organisation called Gestalt Learning, and we'd like to offer this Riolu here a special opportunity if you or your family would allow it."

"Depends," Trunks said.

"We would like her to come with us, to a place where she can learn the same things humans get to learn and more."

Trunks' ears perked up, though he kept on listening while Azzy continued.

"Not only will she get to learn the human tongue, she will also learn many other things about this world and be prepared for whatever trials come her way once she graduates."

"Meaning?"

Azzy looked down at the notebook I put beside me.

"She could learn to draw, for instance, and have her work put out for all to see."

Trunks shook his head. "As much as I'd like her to improve her craft, I'm not letting her come with you just for that, not on Mom's life."

I stood up and held a paw to him.

"Hey," I said, "don't I get a say in this?"

"Not if that's all there is; it's a waste of time."

"Not only that," Azzy continued, "but she would also be skilled at battle and given the ability to defend herself from anything when she leaves. Or if she ever wants to come with a trainer after she's finished."

"No." He gave them the familiar red-eyed stare. "Out of the question. We didn't get away from those… them, just so we could have one take her."

"Understandable." Azzy rubbed his paws. "In fact, I agree with you there. The trainer system is, well, not very good, but that's one thing we'd like to change. It only really works when both the trainer and Pokemon are able to thrive and not just survive."

Trunks put the chocolate aside and crossed his arms. "You have a good point. But what else is there for her?"

"There are many other paths she could choose from. She would not only learn the human tongue, she would also learn maths, know about the history of this world, and much more. This means she could go on to teach other Pokemon like us the same set of skills. She could even live in the city by herself if she wanted to."

Trunks just laughed. It was always worrying when someone as straight-laced as him broke that image.

"Don't be ridiculous. You think every Pokemon could just waltz into the city and live like every other human?"

"Well, wouldn't you want to do the same if you could?"

Bro opened his mouth, about to argue back, but closed it and tilted his head. "Yes. I'd love to. But that's just wishful thinking, isn't it?"

"No it isn't," Azzy said with a smile. "There's an Infernape named Emma who teaches at one of the top trainer schools in Jubilife City, and she's able to live by herself. The teacher's union managed to approve her move-in with the help of her former trainer, and she's able to rent an apartment with her pay."

I didn't really know what they were talking about so I tuned out and looked to my brother, whose mouth went agape. He held a paw to his face, deep in thought.

"That sounds too good to be true. Surely that can't be the case, not while many other Pokemon are either in the wild or stuck with their trainers."

Azzy frowned. "Sadly, that is still a problem. While she is a rare breed, she isn't a unique case. We've seen what regular people can achieve by making the effort to educate Pokemon on their own terms, and that only shows it can be done on a wider scale if we put the effort in." Azzy stood up, his bobble-headed tail proudly wagging behind him. "Think of what we could do if we were all given this chance. Wouldn't you want her to have the same opportunity?"

Trunks looked over to me, then stared at his feet.

"Of course. But what does this mean for her? Where would she even go?"

"She would stay with us in a building made for her and other Pokemon her age to thrive. She would live peacefully among them while she studies, and be given whatever help she needs to progress. She would have tutors like me to give her advice and to bridge the gap between her and the humans. We would be with her every step of the way."

"For how long? Would we ever see her again?"

"Possibly. Keep in mind this is meant to be secret, something we can't tell a lot of humans. We can't give our location away, but we can track yours and give you updates on how she's doing, and allow you two to talk even without having to see each other face to face."

"You mean through a phone?"

"Exactly, and this would go on for five years until she's ready to graduate."

"That's, um, that's a long time."

Trunks buried his head in his paws. I inched closer to him and embraced him, as I felt a whirlwind of emotions from his aura, all fighting for attention, so much so that there wasn't anything to latch onto. Azzy came closer to him too and held his paw out.

"I know this isn't easy for you, as her brother, but this is the only way it can be done with how we run things. If you want to give this bright, young Pokemon the chance to succeed, I need your trust and confidence." He closed his eyes and hummed to himself. "But whatever you choose, we'll respect your wishes."

Trunks was silent for a moment. Being young and not in the loop on things, I couldn't add to much, only observing what happened without my say. He clenched his fists again, this time tugging at his head, if only for a short moment. Eventually, Trunks snapped out of it and gazed back at the Azumarill.

"There's one more thing I need to know before I make up my mind. If we say no, what's stopping you from taking her by force, or any other Pokemon that gets involved with you two?"

"You're right to be sceptical. If we wanted to kidnap our subjects, we would've done so by now, but doing that would go against our mission. If you say no, we'll just take you back and move on. What's the point of making Pokemon participate in a program like this if they're not going to be happy being in it in the first place?"

Trunks laid back and stared at the ceiling. In turn, I stared too, though there wasn't much to look at, just the grey, metallic finish of the boat. For what he was thinking, I couldn't quite place. About myself, well, now I heard more of their plans, it was easier to decide between going and staying. Ultimately, Trunks fixed his eyes onto the duo again, his gaze no longer threatening.

"Alright, I trust you, but I need my own family's trust as well. When can you come back?"

"How about tonight, at the same spot when it approaches sundown? That will give you plenty of time to discuss it more with those important to you. Alright with you two?"

I nodded, while Trunks gave a rare smile and returned Azzy's long awaited paw-shake.

"That sounds great."

The boat purred again and we were on our way back to the island, eating as we pleased as well as downing the leftovers with cocoa. Nothing better on a rainy day, if you ask me. Me and Trunks didn't talk much about what happened, just staring homeward as we slowly approached it, but I knew a lot went through my head at the time even if I didn't understand half of what Azzy talked about. All of it sounded far out of reach, as nothing I knew like that even existed. From my brother's reaction, I guess it scored well with him so I didn't worry about it too much. I just looked forward to flying away from the nest.

We stopped at the shore and waved to the duo as they left for the second time. It was just us alone again. I reached up to Trunk's back, trying to get his attention, he picked me up with those big paws of his and put me on his shoulders, carrying me as we went back into the forest. It had been a while since anybody had carried me; not even Dad bothered. It was nice, though. That's what I kind of miss about being small, so someone else could give me Grumpiggy-back rides like that, but oh well. Can't linger on my childhood forever, you know.

We crossed a stream together and walked through the familiar areas of endless woodland with the rain pelting the treetops. Although I longed for my brother's approval, I still didn't know what his thoughts on it were, exactly.

"Bro," I said, "what do you think I should do?"

He sighed, but didn't reply. I decided to read his aura up close, and detected a mixture of emotions in the air. Excitement. Fear. Longing. Those made sense if it turned out I would be going. But then I read jealousy, anger and sadness. That was something I hadn't anticipated, so I nudged his back.

"What?" he snapped.

I didn't quite know how to phrase it, so I let my gut do the talking. "Are you mad at me?"

His paws quickened their pace, crunching the twigs underneath. "Let's not talk about this now, shall we?"

"No, please. You don't hafta hide it from me. I can read thoughts to, ya know. What's that Dad said, never lie to a Lucario, or, erm, maybe a Riolu?"

He stopped suddenly to let me down. Then, he knelt down to face me, his red eyes moist, and I froze in place. That was a first. I had never seen him cry before, or get misty-eyed at least.

"What's wrong?"

"You know when I got drunk?" A chuckle escaped his lips.

"Yeah."

"That's one thing I wish I forgot. Anyway, it's still a little hazy to me, but I must've talked about going to the city. Dad wouldn't come with us, but me and Mom went there all the time wherever we travelled. The humans were accepting of us, agreeing to tour some of us around, and whatnot. But I was the most interested in the schools. You know what they are?"

"Through that rabbit, yeah. The humans get taught there, don't they?"

"Spot on. We'd sneak into the schools sometimes, just watching what they were doing in their classes through their aura. Mom would read for me and she'd relay what she sensed. Most of the students enjoyed learning about different subjects, and what I heard was fascinating. How to multiply numbers together. How certain chemicals would've reacted when mixed. What techniques this author used to write… am I losing you?"

"A little, but I get it." I took another mental leap of faith and connected the dots. "Was that why you wanted to teach us?"

"Yes. From what little I know, I love doing it. I love seeing you and your brothers grow and improve. But there were many other things I wanted to know from the mainland before I came here, so I could've passed those down to you."

His cheerful expression dropped.

"I would've loved to have had that as a Riolu. There was nothing like that out there for us dumb Pokemon to learn anything, yet those two came here of all places, handing it over to you like it's nothing."

The way he emphasized that last word sent a chill down my spine. His eyes were accusing me of something, what, I didn't know, but I had nothing to do with that.

"T-that's not my fault."

"I know, I know." He pawed at his face. "I'm sorry! I'm happy for you, really happy, but I… I-"

"Can't you ask to come with them?"

"They only spoke about you!" Tears ran down his face. "They obviously picked you for a reason! Besides, I can't come, I have to look after everyone else, I have to be the bigger, mature Pokemon here since Dad doesn't pull his weight, I… I…"

He closed his eyes and took a series of deep breaths. Seeing that and all his raw emotions laid bare, I tried not to cry myself. If I had cried though, it would've been for him. In time, he gathered himself and sniffled, rubbing his eyes.

"I can't believe this," Trunks whispered, "I shouldn't be crying like some hatchling. I'm so weak."

"No you're not!" I placed a paw on his spike, or rather, his heart. "You're not weak, you take care of me and everyone else too! You're awesome, bro! Why doncha see yourself like that too?"

"I don't know," he said, holding his chest as well. Another deep breath, and then, Trunks stood back up. "Let's put this behind us. We'll talk to Mom about this first, alright?"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." He smiled. "Thanks, sis."

* * *

Eventually, we reached the main camp where Mom hung out with our younger brothers, still sheltered from the rain. When we stepped in, they all looked at us.

"Welcome back," she said, "you were out long."

"Mom," Trunks said, "I've got something important to tell you, without those two if you don't mind."

"Aw, c'mon bro," Stumpy said, looking like the kicked Riolu he was. "Why am I being left out?"

"It's not because of you dear." Mom patted Stumpy on the back. "I can tell he has something worth talking to me about. Run along now, you two, and take your brother's umbrella. It will shield you two from the weather."

"No fair." Stumpy stood up and reluctantly dragged Twig away by his paw, snatching the umbrella off Trunk's paw. Mom went up to us and smiled.

"Glad to see you two getting along. So what do you want to talk about?"

"It's about those two visitors from yesterday. They want her."

"For what?"

"For some sort of program. It sounds like one of those schools, if you know what I mean."

Mom quirked an eye at him. "Alright. Go on."

He basically explained the talk we had with Azzy, which again, mostly went over my head. Given how Mom either said one thing or the other about human matters like this, I didn't know how she would react to it. My heart pounded in anticipation, hoping she would say yes. She didn't say anything at all at first, only nodding occasionally to Trunks' questions about this or that, but after he explained everything, she placed her paws on her hips.

"Do you trust them, though? Keep in mind, you only just met them yesterday, right?"

"I know that," Trunks said, "but I read both of their auras, and throughout the whole talk we had, none of them lied, so as far as I can see, they're the real deal."

"And they didn't want anything from us in return, right?"

He shook his head. In turn, Mom lifted me off his shoulders and sat me down, staring at me with those multicoloured eyes of hers once more.

"Dear, what do you want out of life? Do you want to stay here forever?"

"I..." I felt like this was a trick question, like the sort parents usually do when they want to test your true self out. I knew in my heart though that wasn't what I wanted, so I shook my head in honesty.

"Then, what do you want to do once you're there?"

"Well," I rubbed my head, "I wanna do lots of things! I wanna see the world, I wanna not suck at drawing, I wanna be able to talk to these humans, at least. Dad can speak a little bit to them, can't he?"

"Yes, that's right. And you would be willing to get away from us for a bit? They'd have others there who would take care of you, like a new family, but I wouldn't like you to feel homesick while you're there."

"Mmm, yeah, I get that. I know I won't be so alone anyway."

"Alright, it's good that you know that."

Mom took a deep breath and puffed it back out. I couldn't help but read her aura, and what do you know, she had a lot of different emotions going on there too. She was not only excited, but happy and fulfilled as well, with a hint of jealousy too, like Trunks had.

"I know your brother is thinking the same thing," she said, "but if I was your age, I would've taken that chance. Even though I was born and bred in the wild, I was still curious about those humans, and wanted to be a part of their world, as well, but I never could. Not on my own terms, anyway. I got on fine, but this sounds much better."

She chuckled, either out of joy or disbelief.

"You know, this all sounds crazy to me. I don't really know why they would sink so much time into us Pokemon, but then again, it sounds crazy enough to work. So-" she turned to Trunks- "they're coming back tonight, right?"

Trunks nodded. Mom opened her mouth to say something else, before...

"YOU THREE!" Dad stormed in, shouting at us the same way he shouted at that trainer. Stumpy and Twig was by his side. He charged over to Trunks and shook him by the shoulders.

"Pup! I trusted you to keep her safe from the shore and you went behind my back! What were you thinking?"

Trunks looked down, trying to avoid eye contact with him. "D-Dad, I-"

"Not another word out of you. And you!" He stormed over to Mom next, touching the tip of her muzzle. "You're encouraging this sort of behaviour from them? With those humans?"

She stared him down; I had never seen her look so fierce before. Dad grunted, and finally turned to me, pinching one of my aura sensors.

"Ow, Papa!"

"Quiet! I'm grounding you, girl. You're to stay with me until you think about how silly you're behaving!"

"But, but," I stuttered, struggling to keep my cool, "w-what did I do?"

He yanked on it and pulled me about, knocking me onto the floor and dragging me through the rain-soaked dirt. I didn't even understand what was going on, poor me, so I cried for help. Really, what else would I have done in that situation? They seemed to work, or at least, I hoped it was because of that, as he let me go. Or rather, got pushed away from me. I looked back up, only to see he was knocked to the ground by Mom's fist. I crawled away from them, still sniffling like the confused Riolu I was, and watched the two of them argue as he grovelled on the floor, nursing his nose.

"LIAM!" Mom screamed. "What's gotten into you?!""

That was what I meant by him being a different case. That was his true name, the name given to him by his trainer. Slowly, Liam pulled himself up and tried to grapple Mom as she resisted. There was that murderous look of his again.

"How dare you call me that, I trusted you never to say that name agai-"

"Shut up!" she growled. "I don't care what your deal is any more, you've gone too far. You dare lay a finger on my girl again, and I will kill you. You hear?"

He glanced at me briefly and I shielded my eyes from him. I shut myself in my own world as they continued their spat.

"She needs to learn some respect and know her boundaries! Those humans want to take her away and you're defending them! You know how badly they treated me!"

"Liam, your trainer left you years ago! Move on and grow a pair, mon!"

"Don't you talk to me like that, you never should've told her about them in the first place! All they've ever done is ruin everything they touch!"

"Oh please," she said with a laugh, "that's rich coming from you. All the stuff you brought back from the mainland, those hunting methods, the tire swing, the notepad, the box, the tarp, oh, and what else, getting absolutely plastered! You would never have thought of that if it wasn't for them. Well, your trainer taught you about those things in the first place! But sure, keep moaning about those humans while you use everything of theirs."

"That's not-"

"Throw this really long tantrum all you like, but don't drag us down with you. Your daughter has the chance to make something of herself out there. We all could've done something about it, and yet you thought this was the best for all of them, shutting them out from the world."

"Don't act so high and mighty. You agreed to look out for this island with me in the first place, you and our son. You both wanted the same thing."

"No, I didn't!" Trunks joined in the fray that time. I peeked up that time as he bashed the flat of his paw onto Dad's shoulder. "I told you, over and over again, I wanted to stay there! I wanted to learn more about the world! We didn't have to be in the wild!"

"I'm not taking this from you, pup-"

"Oh, this with the pup business again!" Mom jumped back in. "The way you talk about our son as if he's just some hatchling is disgusting. You really are..."

Long story short, it went on for ages, with them bickering back and forth, letting all of their packed up baggage out in one fell swoop. I could go on about it forever, but you get the gist of it by now. To my young ears, all of this was too much.

Then mercifully, there was silence again. The three of them had stopped fighting. They just looked at each other, panting aggressively as a sea of emotions floated in the air around them, so many that there wasn't any way I could've read into them with my limited powers. Dad, or rather, Liam, crossed his arms.

"Still, my word is final, and if I say this is a bad idea, then you should all follow suit. None of you know what it's like to have something precious only to have it ripped away from you. I was young once too, you know."

"Enough, Liam." After all that was said between them, Mom put a paw on his shoulder. "What happened was out of your control. You told me so yourself, so it wasn't your fault! Why can't you just move on with your life and start enjoying it again?"

"Yeah, Dad." Trunks just looked weary at that point. "I… I just want to know what happened so I can understand. I know what goes through your aura. So…"

"I'm not talking about it any more and that's that." So much for that heart-to-heart. He pushed Mom's paw aside and turned back to me, no longer looking as angry as he did before, but something about his face made me sick to my stomach. I couldn't see him the same way I used to.

"Pup, you have no idea what you want. If you go out with them, no matter how kindly they treat you at first, they will make you regret it. Forget all of this happened and live the rest of your life in peace."

I mumbled a little 'no' at first, trying to suppress that word as soon as it came out. After that, I didn't know if I could've stood up to him, but Trunks had, so that gave me the courage to stand up.

"No, Liam." I stepped forward and balled my paws into fists. "That's not fair."

His eyes twitched.

"Life isn't fair, pup. Lots of Pokemon I knew had dreams like yours, only to wind up worse off. This will turn out no different then they did, believe me."

"You don't understand! Bro was out there too. He knew what it was like just as much as you, and told me how much the world sucked as well, yet even he said this was okay! Why won't you listen to us?"

"Because you're both young and inexperienced. Now, enough of this silly arguing. Forget about them and just live like we've always done."

Looking back on it, I could understand where he was coming from as well. Once I had that same sort of experience, it sticks with you, you know. There were lots of Pokemon I could think of that ended up the same way as he did, all with broken dreams or worse, one way or another, but point is, they all had goals of their own only to be screwed over because of one bad egg. Or in Liam's case, as I'd learn later, one event gone awry that ended up with his trainer having to give him up against his will. That might be a story for another time.

If I was given up like that, or was taken away without my say-so, I would've been pissed off too. Not that I ever liked the idea of being with a trainer to begin with, but if you were split up from someone like your best friend for some dumb reason, it wasn't hard to see why he was so bitter.

That still doesn't change the fact he acted like such a huge asshole about it.

Something about what he said just set me off. It was the way he said it, like I didn't know a piece of crap from a small rock. Like I said, I wasn't that smart, but I knew when he talked down to me, so I swiped at his face, hard enough to draw blood from his cheek.

He nursed it. Another moment of silence. My heart leapt from my throat. I heard the swaying of the trees above us. The soft tapping of the rain. The gasps of both Mom and Trunks. I knew what was coming before it happened. He kicked me, sending me flying to a nearby tree, then, there was nothing.


	14. Not The Last Goodbyes, For The Most Part

That hurt like a bitch when I woke up. Sure, I had almost drowned the day before and survived that, but you don't just bounce back right away after being used as a Riolu-sized soccer ball. I don't know how much time had passed since it happened, but it must've rattled something. I couldn't fully pay attention to my surroundings since my head felt like mush, not to mention how the rest of my body ached.

Someone sprayed something all over my body, and while it stung at first, over time, my bruises had healed and my head felt clear again. It's like I became a new mon except, well, with that same dumb brain of mine. I slowly got to my feet, taking note of my surroundings. There was the sky, which was coal black. It had turned night, but it was still cloudy, and probably would've chucked it down any minute. Then, there was the boat by the shore, its lights casting a warm yellow glow over the darkness of the island. Then there was Azzy and his human partner along with the rest of my family crowding around me, save for Liam.

"Oh!" Mom cried, putting her arms around me, and my brothers followed. "Are you alright?"

"I-I think so?" I mean, I was fine, but still a bit confused. "Where's Li- I mean Dad?"

"Don't you worry about him," Mom said, "I've taken care of it for now. But dear, listen-" she grasped my shoulders, looking at me with an intense aura, and sighed- "I didn't want to rush this, but you have to make a choice to stay here or come with them before he wakes up."

I glanced at the duo, who waited patiently beside us. Azzy tugged on one of his ears. "I'd rather we didn't rush things either, Miss Lucario."

Mom smirked. "I haven't been called that in a while. But no matter what happens, I won't think any less of you, dear. You're a big Riolu now; you can make your own decisions. Just do what you think will make you happy."

A big Riolu, huh. So I wasn't a hatchling any more in my mother's eyes. That cracked a smile, I had to admit. As quickly as it came, that faded away. "What about you guys? Will you be fine without me? I'll be, like, so so far away!"

"True," she said, "but we'll be able to keep in touch. They have amazing technology we can use, so you won't be alone. We'll be with you like they will."

Not that I knew what they could've used, but that was some relief to me. I either had a choice to stay on the island or venture further and learn about the world. Staying on the island meant staying with family, but that also would've meant, well, Liam. My gut churned; I didn't want much to do with him any more. If what they said was true, I could've been away from Dad and still with the rest at the same time. It was better than nothing at all. At that moment, my resolve strengthened. I stood up at last, turning to the rest of my bros.

"Are you really leaving?" Stumpy said, looking misty eyed.

It was a lot different saying it out loud than thinking about it. Now he had though, the prospect felt a lot more real. "Um, yeah," I said. "I've got stuff I need to do."

And here came the waterworks, but a lot much louder this time. It didn't take long for the runt Twig to start too, as the Leppa didn't fall far from the tree. Usually, I would've turned them away, but since I wouldn't be seeing them for a while, I pulled both of them in for a hug. Their auras flowed into mine, and I almost felt like crying too. But I put on a brave face for them.

"C'mon, you doofs," I said. "I'll be back someday."

"I-I'll m-m-miss you though!" Stumpy said, "And, and, that sounds like a really long time to me!"

"Too long! Too long!" Twig said.

I patted both of their backs and pulled away from them, leaving the two to comfort each other. I looked to Trunks next and he pulled me in for a hug, so tight, it was just short of crushing me. Lucario have strong grips, after all. Yet, it was such a comfort after what had happened. He was sad of course, but also really content from what I read in his own aura. Yet, there was something else in that mix of emotions I couldn't quite place.

"I'll hear from you soon," he said. "Promise me you'll try your best over there."

"I will, bro."

Trunks let go, leaving me with Mom next. After this, that would've been it, and it would've been the last time I saw them in a while. I didn't want to have to leave without having one last chat with them, so before Mom could pick me up, I raised my paw.

"Wait!" I said. "Can I talk to you and bro before I say bye?"

The two nodded and took me aside, where they both knelt down to my level.

"We'll have to be quick," Mom said.

"Yeah, I know, but..." I trailed off, looking deep into Mom's eyes. They glistened like jades and rubies. "You… don't mind, do you? Wouldn't it be lonely for you?"

"Oh, of course." She picked me up and cradled me in her arms, rocking me softly. "I'll miss being able to hug you and tell you stories every night. If any one of my little stars went, I'd miss them too."

"I'm not little, Mom..." Trunks said.

"Well, big stars, then." A sad smile formed on her lips. "We'll still be able to talk sometimes, though. And even if we're not with you up close, we'll be-" she touched the middle of my chest- "with you in your heart."

With that, she lowered me to the rocky shore, and I turned to Trunks next.

"So, did they say you could come with me?" I asked.

He shook his head. "They would only be taking in one Pokemon from each area your age. As much as they wanted to." He frowned. "They had their reasons."

"Aw, sorry."

"Don't be." He smiled. "As long as you're fine going out, and make the most of your studies there, that's enough to make me happy."

"But what about Dad though?"

Trunks blew a Razzberry; another rare thing for him to do. "Whatever, I'm done being his lackey. Just focus on yourself." He put a paw on my shoulder. "There's a future for you out there. Chase after it. Oh!" His eyes widened and he ran back to the group. At last, Trunks gave me back the drawing set from before, and gave me one final hug for good measure. He squeezed me extra tightly, and so did I, knowing we'd never be able to do so again for a very long time. I could tell he was holding back tears through his aura, but suppressed the urge to, and released me, letting me get back to the duo.

Boarding the boat with them, I looked to my family one last time before waving goodbye.

"I'll talk to you all soon, I swear it! I'll make you proud!"

Soon enough, they drove away from the island, and I continued waving back until my family faded into the background. Part of me wondered where Dad was in all of this, but since the spat I had earlier, I shrugged it off. Now, it was just me and that duo. Azzy tapped my back and gestured me to the lower deck where more cocoa awaited me. There were still some leftovers scattered on the table, and admittedly, I was a bit peckish.

"Go ahead," Azzy said, "you can help yourself while we talk."

"Okay..." I popped a lemon drop in my mouth. "Talk about what?"

"Well, about your father." Azzy sat down and held his paws together. "I heard things weren't very pleasant with him on the island. Sorry."

I crunched down on the boiled sweet. "Got nothin' to be sorry for."

"I know. It's just..." he grimaced and shook his head. "Never mind. But, I thought you ought to know I'll be your stand-in tutor for the moment. So I'll be your guardian, someone you can talk to, and also someone to help you with your studies. Obviously, I can't be like another parent to you, but I will try my best."

"Yeah, I get that." Sort of. The concept of a tutor was still quite new to me, but if it was anything like how my brother cared for me, then I was all for it.

"Alright." He took a deep breath, then laid that red and white ball on the table. He explained what it was, what it did to my body, which goes without saying, and that I should stay there if I wanted to turn in for the night. I just sipped at my cocoa while he explained, not too enthused by the prospect of staying in there.

"I wanna see what's out there, though." You could imagine me putting on some puppy dog eyes. Besides, I wasn't exactly tired, yet. "Yanno, before we get to that learnin' place."

"If you want, when we reach land, we can. Otherwise, it'll be pretty boring, since Mack will be driving the boat for a long time."

"Can we do somethin', though?" I might've just used it as an excuse to not go there yet. "Mama used to read to me when I got bored."

Azzy smiled at that as his ears perked up. A part of his bobble-tail wagged behind him. "We did have some books lying about, actually. I do like to read whenever we have to travel for a long time anyway."

"Then let's do that!" I said, giving him a big, beaming smile. So that was that. He read out loud from one book, which, I think, must've been an adventure book about a duo of rich guys travelling on dragonback to see the world based on a dare. I heard a lot of names flying about, Kalos, Alola, and Sinnoh as well, but couldn't quite process them all. Still, I remember liking it a lot, or at least being satisfied for a while until we got where we needed to be. The most important part was how Azzy read it. He didn't get bored and didn't shoot down my questions on what a certain thing from that book was, rather, he revelled in the moment. And I did too, though I got more tired with each passing hour. When the boat finally slowed to a stop, I was struggling to keep my head up. The human gestured us to join him, which we did, and that was where I first caught sight of Sinnoh's mainland.

Lights twinkled on a set of twin ports, which was reflected in the ocean's water. The whole place was alight, and wet as rain poured down from the storm overhead. We were protected by it, of course, as we stood under the roof, but it was loud, with raindrops crashing down and the sirens of other boats blaring. Not only that, but there were little twinkles of aura scattered about the ships and docks, with other people inside it. There were all these people, humans and Pokemon I had never seen before. And honestly, it was hard to take it all in. I turned my attention away from that to Azzy, tugging on his paw.

"Where are we?" I asked.

"Canalave City," he said, "just where we're stopping for now, but we'll be travelling some more. That will take even longer."

I didn't even know if I could've waited that long to get to GeL. "Can I go inside that… thing? That ball, I mean."

"Yes, if you've had enough. You just need to tap the button in the middle, and you'll already be asleep."

"It doesn't hurt, does it?"

"After trying it loads of times, no. Do you want me to help?"

"No, I think I know what to do." Before I turned in for the night, I looked to Azzy one last time and smiled. "Thanks for readin' to me."

"You're welcome, Miss Riolu."


	15. Ambrette's Beach Bum

_"Right,"_ Curio said, holding a paw up, _"that's enough for now."_

Tony complied and pressed the record button to stop. There was a moment of silence in the room as Curio stretched her arms, squirming in her seat. Shine followed as well; he must've sat on his haunches for at least an hour or so.

He had taken it all in, and with that, pieces of Curio's past were starting to fit inside the entangled puzzle. Even with the information Curio had given him throughout the interview, more details surfaced from their time in GeL and what she used to tell him there. How Trunks secretly danced when he thought no one was looking, or how her mother sat with her outside at night and talked about the positions of the stars. Of all memories, she chose those ones to represent her family in the interview, but he guessed she only wanted to tell the most relevant bits. Information shared between people in conversations often usually got lost in translation onto the silver screen, after all.

Yet, there was something about Liam that rubbed Shine the wrong way. It was the same as Curio had told him, sure, but something about that, and how she didn't get on with her father at all, resonated with the Luxray. He thought deeper about it, and after enough digging, one image flashed in his mind: an apathetic Manectric. That image, like Curio's own dad, made his blood curdle.

"Hey, Shine," Curio said, sticking her tongue out at him. "Don't be such a space case."

Another one of those episodes, then. As Curio brought him back down to earth, Shine shook his head, bringing himself back to the scene of the studio.

 _"Well, that was long,"_ Curio said, eyeing Tony, _"I hope I don't hafta do another take."_

"No, that's fine, I'd say that's a good place to stop now."

" _Okay, cool, that's over with."_ She grabbed her bag and stood up, swinging it by her side. _"I'll start with the GeL stuff tomorrow. For now, I'm gonna buzz off somewhere else."_

"Wouldn't you like to stay the night with Shine, though? I can pull up a bed if you want."

 _"No thanks, not in this shithole, and especially not with you."_

So much for a truce. Tony was about to respond when Curio made her way towards the door.

"Hold on," Shine said, "where will you stay?"

"The beach, of course. I found the perfect spot earlier, so that'll be my base for now. See ya in the morning, I guess." She sighed before she walked out and slammed the door.

Then, more silence. The house was still again, and Shine was glad to have a bit of quiet after that long interview session. Not so glad that Curio had to leave so soon or snap at Tony again. Speaking of which, Tony broke the silence with some laughter.

"Well," he said, "she's quite the character, isn't she?"

Shine groaned, tending to his trainer's side. _"She's rude, that's what she is. I'm sorry for her behaviour today."_

"Don't mention it. I've put up with worse, but that's part and parcel of working in a team."

He knew one of Tony's co-workers was particularly unpleasant to deal with, not only openly hating Shine but also messing up Tony's paperwork on a few occasions when the workload was busy. He came back one day and told him while he stank of beer.

 _"I guess so."_ He huffed, looking to the floor. _"I don't know what's got her blue knickers in a twist. I'm not having it around you, Tony, you shouldn't have to put up with it."_

"I know." He smirked. "If she does carry on like this, then I am gonna tell her outright. But I know she's important to you, so I don't want to tear the two of you away."

" _Alright."_ Shine curled up next to his trainer, lowering his head to be stroked. _"But I will tell her to pack it in before our next interview."_

"I appreciate the effort." Tony combed his hand through Shine's fur. "Your coat's all sticky. You weren't slimed on by any chance?"

Oh, right. _"How did you guess?"_

"Got a bit of it in my hair as a kid once, from a trainer who couldn't keep a hold on his Goomy. Nasty stuff, that is. I think this calls for another bath."

 _"You sure? Don't you need to back up the video first?"_

"I can do that later." Tony turned off the lightboxes around him, leaving only the dim ceiling lamp on. "I'll get changed into that rubber stuff so we can start, shall we?"

Moments later, Shine entered the shower room, sitting with Tony as he rinsed the gunk out of his coat.

"So," Tony said, "how did you find her?"

 _"Well, I did say it was a long story."_ As painful as it was to look back on that day, he would've only delayed the inevitable. " _I'll confess, I drew out twenty thousand of your savings to get there."_

"Hmm." Tony sprayed Shine in the back with his special shampoo. "I did say that was only for emergencies, like if I was out on a trip and you had to pick up groceries on your own, or if something here got damaged."

 _"Yes, I guess that wasn't much of an emergency. Still, I don't know how I would've found her if I didn't ride a Dragonite there ASAP."_

"Oh, so that's how you got there. What was it like? Can't say I've ever been on one before."

 _"It'll make you sick, but besides that, I'm in debt. What I brought out wasn't enough, so I'm paying it back by teaching some of the dragons the human tongue."_

"Oh really? That's impressive, Shine! Glad to see you're putting your skills to good use again."

 _"Thanks."_

Shine squirmed a little as Tony scrubbed the wooden brush at where the Goodra slime hit. It was thick, so it must've taken some force to get out, after all.

 _"I'm sorry I ran off without much notice, I should've waited until you got home from work."_

"No, it's alright. Ines told you we were swamped, so I couldn't blame you if you were itching to go out. I keep thinking you should be going out more often, to be honest."

 _"But you're my trainer, I should tell you these sorts of things."_

"Oh come on, trainer in name only. It's not like we're in the league, after all. You're a mature Luxray now, so I wouldn't hold it against you if you went on more trips like these. You've proven yourself to be independent, which is more than I can say for a lot of Pokemon I've met, so own it, for the white god's sake."

It crossed Shine's mind often. He would've liked to have seen Lumiose City, if only to see the Plaza Tower there and the massive library nearby, which was one of the biggest in the world. He didn't meet many Pokemon in Ambrette that shared the same wish as him, not even Bauble, but still, there was nothing stopping him from going out more. When he thought about it though, his mind wandered to what could go wrong on the way, like if he was attacked by a random gang of wild Pokemon, which held him back. Or the weird stares he would've gotten as a Luxray in such a place filled with humans. What would've happened if someone tried to catch him by force? Luxray weren't that common in Kalo- no, cut it out. His trainer was probably starting to get worried, so Shine made his typical reply.

 _"I suppose."_

Tony hummed. "Well then, something to think about. Say, if you want to make it up for the money you took, I would suggest you to cut the sweet spending for a bit. Deal?"

" _Deal."_

After the bath, the two made their way to the studio again to pick the camera up, then went back to the living room to debrief. Shine sat back on the couch while Tony started transferring his video over, thinking back to the conversation Curio had with Tony prior to storming off. Well, the whole interview for that matter, but all throughout, whenever she talked about Liam in particular, she no longer had that usually cheery expression on her face. In fact, her words about him were more deliberate and slower paced. Had it taken more of a toll than Shine was expecting? It was a hunch, but he sprang off the seat in pursuit of that inkling.

 _"I'll be right back,"_ he said, _"I've got to talk to Curio."_

Tony nodded as Shine headed out of the apartment to the beach only a few minutes away. It had turned night, and the moonlight cast the sea aglow, with white streaks highlighting the dark blues of the ocean. There were streetlamps on the concrete path that illuminated the shore, and there, Curio sat alone, wrapped up in a tattered sleeping bag with her satchel beside her. When Shine walked closer to her, dampening his electric charge as he traipsed through the sand, he noticed Curio fiddling with something in her paw and hand.

"What're you doing there?" he said, making her ears twitch. "Oh, sorry to surprise you."

"I've got my aura, remember? Sneak attacks do naff all. Whaddya want?"

"Do you mind if I talk to you? It's about Tony and that."

She paused for a moment, then grumbled. "Come and sit next to me, then."

He obliged, and he leaned over her side to see her handiwork in full view. She held a pair of pliers on one end and a tiny metal object on the other, which she moulded in the shape of a Pokemon, although what species wasn't clear yet. He didn't respond at first, just watching her handiwork, or pawdiwork, at first, even though that wasn't a word. But then he remembered he needed to address something and stood on his haunches.

She winced, then stopped to look at Shine. "Go on then, you look like you've got a Rattata stuck in your throat. Spit it out."

"O-oh, erm..." He was surprised at that turn of phrase, but kept his composure. "Alright, why on earth are you acting like this towards Tony?"

She huffed. "Of course you were gonna ask that."

"I thought I made it clear he was my carer." He dug his claws into the sand. "Not just a trainer, but someone who's dragged me out of bed every morning even when I felt like disappearing. Do you still not realise that?"

"Yeah, I know that, dammit." Curio sighed and put the figurine to one side. Her metallic fingers twitched again. "Sorry. I just got a bit wound up during that interview, yanno, talkin' about him."

"I know, I could see it on your face. But Tony didn't ask you about, well, you know who. You could've left out the bad parts."

"I know, that was my own fault, Shine." Curio put her arms behind her head and sat on her back, gazing at the stars above. "Just talkin' about it, I didn't really realise how deep I'd be gettin' into it."

"I understand that." More silence followed. As the tide drifted in and out, water sloshing at the banks, Shine thought of how to phrase his request. Well, that would be too forward. Hearing that from Curio brought stuff up in his own mind. "It's hard, talking about your past. I couldn't even do it myself most of the time when Tony started doing the interviews."

Her expression didn't change as the moonlight swirled in that green-eyed sea of hers.

"I did want to thank you for stepping up, though." Shine smiled. "I'm already piecing together certain bits now." His expression dropped. "I'm sorry if I did heap it all on you, though."

"Nah, nothin' to be sorry for." Curio sighed again, shifting her weight a little to face Shine. "Glad I could help."

"Just, the only other thing I'd ask is that you be more patient with him."

"I know, I know." She sat up and held her paws up in defence. "I did kind of take it out on him, I'm afraid."

"Yes, you did."

"Well, I will ease up on him. I just need time, is all."

"How much time?"

"I just need to give it a think, okay?"

Shine looked Curio in the eye and inched close to her. A moment passed, and he nodded, satisfied with the answer for now. "Alright."

Curio hummed as she continued moulding the Lapras, adding a few extra scraps of metal and other bits of junk until she produced a miniature from her paws. There was what appeared to be recycled blue cans for the body and pieces of foil stuck together for its shell, with little eyes scraped in on the head.

"See the Lapras over there?" She gestured over to a pod of the Transport Pokemon swimming in the distance. "I'm makin' it for them."

There was something nice about seeing Curio making the stuff she was passionate about. "As good as always."

"Eh, I've made better."

"Still, I couldn't make something like that even if I wanted to."

"Oh, don't beat yerself up over it. You still have your writing thing, don't you?"

Shine squeaked in surprise. "I-I don't know what you're talking about."

She frowned. "Never mind."

Something about her tone struck him as odd, which put a lump in his throat. Why had she mentioned that of all things, and why did she seem so disappointed? He knew about that part vaguely, but he had abandoned it so long ago, it was hardly worth mentioning anymore. He shook his head. It was no use getting worked up over a silly dream like that.

In any case, Curio unrolled the blanket and padded towards the edge of the shore, Shine following closely beside her. Kneeling down, Curio placed the miniature on the surface of the water, much to his surprise.

"What are you doing?" he said.

"Hold it," she said, and pushed it along the surface. It floated, bobbing up and down with the motion of the waves, and headed towards the direction of the Lapras pod, where it continue to swim until it was no longer in sight. "Let's hope they'll see it."

The tide carried it forward for a considerable moment of time, cruising through the moonlit waters at a steady pace, nearly surfing as the waves grew in size and force, then sank underwater.

"After all that," Shine said.

"Oh well," Curio said, yawning. "I wonder if that Gyarados geezer will find it."

 **[End of The Island Arc]**


	16. Interlude - Ambrette's Climbers

The next day started on an odd note. Shine greeted Tony as he was about to head out of the apartment for work. As the front door closed, however, something splashed outside, much to Shine's amazement. Then, the door opened again to reveal his trainer with a bucket on his head; his entire body dripping wet and covered with glitter.

 _"What on Earth?"_ Shine said, aghast.

Tony pried the bucket off and tossed it aside with a disgusted and a literally-gleaming expression.

"That's what I want to know! Ugh!" He wrung his Alolan shirt dry outside. "I mean glitter, really? What idiot put that above my doorstep?"

" _Well, that's a childish prank to play on someone."_

"Yeah, exactly!" He groaned. "Never mind. I need a quick shower and some new clothes. I'm gonna have the time of my life getting that shit out of my laundry later."

Tony rushed to the shower to rid himself of the shimmering substance. Shine thought he'd save some time for him by getting him a new change of clothes, all wrapped up beforehand for him, which he picked up with his mouth and laid at the nearest couch. He also thought he'd see who was responsible, if they were still around, so he turned on his golden vision to see through the walls outside. He saw a Lucario hanging around on the opposite side of the floor, although one particular detail about their left arm told Shine everything he needed to know about who the perpetrator was. He clenched his teeth, waiting for Tony to leave so he could tell Curio off.

Time passed. Tony emerged from the bathroom, scrambling to put his new change of clothes on, and thanked Shine before he left work for good. The Luxray waited a moment before checking outside, and who else would be waiting for him but Curio?

"Yo!" she said, sporting a toothy grin. "Hope you slept well after yesterday!"

"Why did you do that?" He bared his fangs. "After what I told you about being patient with him?"

"Yeah, I understood that. Doesn't mean I can't twist his arm a little, huh?"

"Yes, but he might be late for work thanks to you."

"Oh well, he'll be fine. Now-" she rubbed her paws together- "what're we up to today?"

He wasn't sure if he wanted to spend time with Curio after that. And yet, it would've been their first chance to explore Ambrette together, and the alternative would've been reading on his lonesome all day. So, he relented, but not before shooting her a stern look.

"Apologise first and I'll tell you."

"Alright, fine, sorry."

"And say you're sorry to Tony when you meet him as well."

"Yeah, I got it! Now, what're we doing?"

"Alright, thank you." He sighed and moved back into the house with Curio, thinking about what the two would do around town since she would be the tourist in this situation. There were plenty of places, but where would he start? Her life seemed more exciting than his, so could he show anything of worth to her?

"Why not a house tour?" she said with a shrug. "I mean, we don't have to do anythin' balls to the wall. I'm fine with chilling for the rest of the day."

Never mind the fact she had called the place a shithole the night before. Still, that reassured Shine a little, and he agreed to take her around as he navigated her through the apartment.

The first place he thought of was his bed, right in the corner of the living room. It consisted of a round plush bed with an assortment of cushions, a light stand, and a lengthy bookcase installed near Shine's height at the back. He was quite proud of the little study space Tony pulled together, and whenever he had trouble sleeping and wanted to be on his own, he'd pull out one of the books and read until he had his face buried in the pages.

"Cute," Curio said with a quirked eye, "did, er, Tony do that?"

"Yes."

He remembered the time when his trainer tried to assemble the tiny bookcase off by heart; going through many failed attempts until he came up with the finished result. DIY was not his forte, though he pulled it off eventually. That must've been some time before he built the studio space. As he was lost in thought, he looked over to Curio, who waited as she stared at her paw. She was probably getting bored already. What else did Shine have that Tony helped him with? Then, it struck him.

"Oh, just remembered! Barley should've sent me a friend request."

"A what now?" Curio said, head cocked. Shine led the way to their computer and turned it on; fans whirring in the background. "Oh! I see! Haven't touched those in ages! So, is this yours or Tony's?"

"Well, we share it, since he's outside for most of the day."

The room was silent for a bit as they stared at the loading screen.

"This might take a little while," he said.

"Whatever you say, mon," Curio said, stomach growling. "I'll be right back."

"Where are you going?" he said, but Curio didn't answer, going into the kitchen without his say-so. He thought of stopping her, as it was customary to ask first before raiding someone else's fridge, but he was sure Tony didn't mind. Besides, Curio wasn't in as comfortable a position as Shine was. He doubted he would've been content resting in a sleeping bag himself; not that he hadn't slept on worse before.

Later, Curio returned to his side, munching on a cucumber as she stared at the start-up screen of the PokeOS. In turn, Shine swung in his seat and put his paw on a trackball, which he used to navigate the screen in lieu of a mouse. The home screen's wallpaper was of him and Tony smiling together, posing by the beach with various other Pokemon in the background. It was from a day trip out with Ines, who took the picture behind the camera. Curio snorted.

"What?" Shine asked. "I know you still aren't fond of me and him toge—"

"Nah, it's just—" She puffed her cheeks. "You two just look kind of cute like that."

"Cute?" he said with a little snort of his own. He didn't know what to make of that, but at least that was something from Curio other than dismissal. Well, he carried on anyway, leaning into the microphone to speak. _"Celebi, open Diancord."_

His words brought the home page of the titular app up, where Shine had a friend invite from the user 'ChildishAudino', which he accepted in kind. At least he had that connection already. Shine had a few mentions on the other servers: one from a roleplaying server whose campaign he was behind on, as well as a few on the general Pokemon server where he discussed the latest news about the games and anime series. There was even one server invite to the Pokespeaker Diancord from Barley, which he also accepted.

"So what is this stuff?" Curio asked.

"Oh, the app or this server?"

"The app. I get that it's a chat thing, but how are you able to type anything in with those big beans of yours?"

Beans? Oh, right, toebeans. Granted, his paws were indeed big and clumsy to do anything with other than claw at something, but he was able to make the most out of it.

"Tony set it up for me so it can recognise my speech quite easily, so I just use voice chat for the most part. I know a few Pokemon users online, but people don't seem to recognise I'm a Pokemon myself until I point it out to them."

Her ears twitched to that. "No way, that's awesome!"

Shine swivelled to her direction. "I'm surprised you haven't used this before."

"Ya know-" she bit a huge chunk off of her breakfast, "I don't boffer wiff that thort of thuff. I travel a lot, and iff not like I can afford a fanfy computer like that."

"Really? Have you not been to the library once since you escaped? They do have computers there you can use for free."

"A few timeth, for filmth and stuff." Curio swallowed. "Never really had the need to be cooped up in a library all day." Then, Curio's face lit up, tapping the monitor.

"Don't do that, the screen's sensitive."

"Hold up, I'm trying to think! Ooh, can you search up GeL and see if anything's there?"

Shine shook his head. "Sadly, I've found nothing."

"Oh come on!" She leaned into the monitor. _"Celebi, search the Gestalt Learning Facility thingy!"_

As predicted, only a few hundred results showed up. When faced with this, Curio overtook the trackball and scrolled through all 900 of the search results, only to find they were all unrelated to the GeL project, just links leading to Gestalt theory. Shine had tried the same thing himself, and while the notes on Gestalt theory were useful, which viewed a person's education as a whole rather than the sum of its parts, he was no closer to finding anything about his past through that information.

"What the…"

"Sorry." Shine shifted himself forward, wheeling him back in place. "As far as I know, all of it's been covered up. Me and Tony looked everywhere, even at the old archives in all the libraries we could go to and couldn't find anything. If it's not on the Web, it's not anywhere else."

Curio gave Shine a hard look, and for a moment, Shine could see that hollowness in her eyes, the same one he saw days before when he first mentioned GeL. Then it disappeared and Curio looked her usual chirpy self again.

"Oh well," she said, "worth a shot anyway." Curio popped the last of the cucumber in her mouth, chewing the rest noisily, much to Shine's chagrin. "How about we go to the square, if there is one?"

Indeed, there was. He wasn't about to go on a shopping trip since he was barred from buying any more treats, but it would've been nice to see the regulars there. Maybe Curio would've gotten something by talking to them. And with that, Shine made his way out of the complex with Curio and walked through the sun-baked streets to the town centre as it started to become more crowded towards noon.

Tourists in casual wear came with their Pokemon, carrying various things such as toys, balls and surfboards for the beach as the tide was picking up. To Shine's sensitive pink nose, there was a faint air of collective body odour coming in from the crowd, but he didn't think to complain about it. It was summertime when it was acceptable to walk in nothing but your briefs, after all.

Deeper into the plaza, the stalls were already out in the very centre of the town, selling bread, berries, berry preserves to spread on bread, ice cream, and other knicknacks every grocery shopper could hope to chance upon. Well, except for the fish. That strong stench always seemed to sting Shine's nostrils, but never mind. He glanced at Curio, who had disappeared near a stall that sold pastries, reaching out towards a scone while the owner tended to his stock at the back. Shine went up to her quickly before she could lay her paw on it and nudged her leg.

"What are you doing?" he whispered.

"Whaddya think?" she blurted out, retracting her sticky fingers.

"Can I help you at all?" the owner chimed in, staring at the one armed Lucario, dumb-struck. He caught Shine and smiled to him. "Oh, hello, Shine. Do you want the usual?"

Shine sniffed at the contents of the stall and leaned towards them, mouth watering at the sweet smells of caramelised apples and cinnamon topped crusts. He only got so far before he shook his head and pulled away.

 _"No thanks, I'm afraid. Tony…"_ He wasn't proud of admitting he had stolen his trainer's savings out loud, so he settled for a convenient lie. _"A-actually, I'm on a diet."_

He nodded. "Fair enough. Our turnovers will be waiting for you in the future." Shine bowed to him and shot a glance at Curio to wrangle her out of the scene.

"On a diet, huh?" she said with a grin. "Yeah, my foot."

"Never mind that," Shine said, "were you about to steal from him?"

"Yeah, so?"

"So? I don't want your first day to be spent talking to the city watch."

"Second day. And I wouldn't've needed to if you didn't stop me."

Shine was beginning to rethink becoming friends with a kleptomaniac. His poor heart could've only taken so much without being put on a wanted poster as a partner in crime, after all. He was about to tell her off when—

"Shine!"

The voice of his former student called out to him, belonging to the Bunnelby called Bobby. Shine turned to the source as Bobby started to bounce over to him, well, not so much bounce as do a half-hop half-skip. One of the Bunnelby's legs was missing, so he hopped on one leg, and unfortunately, caught himself on the floor, making the poor Pokemon trip over his own feet. Shine immediately went up to him, ignoring Curio for the moment.

"You alright?" Shine said.

"Yeah," Bobby said, smiling as he picked himself back up. "Just gettin' by. Me and me lame leg, always in the way."

Shine winced at that, though he changed the subject. "Have you still been practising?"

"Yeah, I guess! It's slow learnin', but you gave me some good books to read, so I'm tryin'."

"Good to hear," he said with a smile. Admittedly, he missed teaching him, so it was a rare joy to see a student getting on so well.

"Up for some biscuits, then? _In the house_ is what they say, ain't it?"

" _On the house,"_ he corrected, switching to human for emphasis. _"Wrong preposition._ But anyway…" He would've said yes to that right away, only to be offset by Curio's smirk.

"Remember, you're on a diet."

"Uh, ignore her," Shine said. "Throw in some cookies for my friend as well."

"You're just bribing me at this point," she said, then shrugged, "but I'll take it."

Bobby nodded to them, then sprung up on the table counter by his stall. He waved his paws in front of him as he almost lost balance, but was able to steady himself in time, then gestured the two to come over to them as he sat by his trainer. The human co-owner of the stall, Hilda, noticed Shine next, giving him a dimpled smile across her wrinkled and friendly features.

"'Ello!" she said, reaching a hand out, "where've you been?"

 _"Out on a trip, ma'am,"_ Shine said, gladly accepting her head pats, _"how are the kids?"_

"Oh, same old, same old. They won't stop pesterin' Bobby each time they get off school. Since he's been talkin' to 'em, they won't let 'im up, not even for one second, I tell you." She guffawed in the air, being her loud self, as usual. Then she turned to Curio and rubbed her hands together.

"Hello there! You're a pretty girl, aren't you, yes you are, yes you are!" She spoke in a high pitched squeal as she approached Curio, ready to pet her.

 _"Are you high or somethin', lady?"_ she deadpanned. _"And how'd you know I'm a girl?"_

"Ooh, this one's got a mouth on her, doesn't she?" Hilda retracted her hands, wide-eyed, though nonetheless happy to be looking at a Lucario. "You certainly bring the most interesting Pokemon with you, Shiny-dear."

 _"I do?"_ Shine asked. _"Oh, how rude of me. Curio, meet Hilda. Hilda, meet Curio."_

He glanced at Curio and prodded her with his tail. If all went well, Curio would let down her guard and be the civilised Pokemon she was meant to be. Thankfully, she smiled, and handed Hilda her paw.

 _"Nice meetin' ya. Lay off the baby talk and we can be friends."_

"Will try." Hilda returned the offer and gave her a handshake. "Don't mind me, force of habit, is all. You close with Shine?"

 _"Yeah, I guess you could say that."_

"Closer than that, maybe?"

 _"Dream on, lady."_

Hilda gave her signature boisterous laugh and walked to the opposite end of her store. Shine didn't find that as funny. "Only just teasin', I love a bit o' gossip. 'Ere."

She returned with two bags of homemade biscuits, which was tradition for Shine to get whenever they met. Curio beamed at the sight of it.

"For you and Shiny-dear." She handed both bags for Curio, one for her and another one for Shine that she held onto for now. "'Ave one now if you'd like."

 _"Well, gee, thanks."_ Curio undid the plastic wrap and devoured one of the biscuits, humming as she chewed. _"What do you put in thith, thith is goof!"_

Another dimpled smile. "That's a secret, dearie." She turned to Shine. "Anything planned for t'day?"

 _"Well, we're still deciding. I'm just showing her around town."_

"Hah, not much goin' on 'round here, I'm afraid, least not 'til the festival." Hilda said. "Keep your eyes out for the summer solstice; I know I will since that's where the money's at."

" _Will do, thanks,"_ Shine said with a bow. In turn, Curio smiled at her.

 _"Keep up the good work, lady,"_ she said, popping another biscuit in her mouth. _"Peath."_

They went off to explore more of the stalls, while were made up of some familiar faces that greeted Shine and not-so familiar faces that stared at the two as they passed by. Even though he was familiar with Ambrette at this point, he was trying not to let the attention get to him. But after exploring long enough, they looped back to Hilda's stall, where they caught a glimpse of Bobby serving a customer, counting with the digits of his paws.

" _Nine-ty, please."_

The customer handed over the change and Bobby carefully navigated through the tupperware maze to retrieve a bag of caramel shortbread.

" _Thanks."_

Shine smiled, as it always warmed his heart to see his former student putting his work to good use. Curio nudged Shine with her foot.

"So you taught him, huh? Good for you."

"It's the least I can do for being a part of this town. And besides, well, he needed it." He looked at the Bunnelby again as he couldn't help but frown. "He couldn't fight in the league since he lost his leg, so he needed to distract himself with something else. So, he came to me and the rest is history."

"Sounds like you could make a good business out of that, teachin' other Pokemon. Why don't you do what Barley does, but, like, as a job?"

He frowned. Whenever he thought about it, the idea always fell through in his head, as he pictured all sorts of scenarios where he struggled to run a club and got too anxious to continue, overburdened with the responsibility of being on his own. Instead, he answered, "I don't know. Never thought about it."

Curio scoffed on one of the cookies. "Whatether. Leth find someplathe elthe."

Next, they went closer to the seaside, where the tourist parts of the area usually bustled, and today was no exception. As usual, there were lines of people and Pokemon waiting outside for ice cream vendors, and the occasional screaming toddler that came out of the arcades as well. To Shine's ears, the arcades were basically noise machines, or maybe that was his heightened sense of hearing talking. He wouldn't have given it a second thought if Curio hadn't glanced over to them, as she wandered off to get a closer look. Shine just stayed where he was for the moment, waiting for Curio to come back as she seemed rather disappointed.

"All crane and coin games there. Eh." She shrugged. "I hoped they'd have some of the—"

A loud squawk rang through the skies, and the duo broke away from each other to see Bauble standing on the floor, beak upturned.

"You come to steal him away from me?" Bauble said, staring Curio down.

"And you are?" Curio asked.

"Oh," Shine said, standing beside the Murkrow. "This is Bauble."

"Another friend of yours?"

"Yeah," Bauble said, preening her coat, "and what's it to you?"

"Oh, so you're jealous, huh? Relax, I'm not competing with you, it's not like some friendship measuring contest."

"You're spending time with him without me," she said, "that's competition enough."

Curio shrugged and shoved her arm in her bag, fishing through the rest of its contents. "Say, is it true what they say about you Murkrow liking glowy things?"

"Don't know what you're talkin' about. That won't work on-" Bauble stared in awe as Curio pulled out a red looking stone, a ruby by the looks of it, whose innards gleamed in the sunlight. "Ooh! Shiny shiny!"

"You can have it if you want." Curio laid it on the floor and Bauble immediately flocked to pick it up, keeping it stowed away safely in her mouth. Shine looked at Bauble, who looked as happy as a Clamperl. She must've known that was fake, right? Or was it?

"I promise I'll spend time with you as well." Shine said and bowed to her. "Thanks to you, I was able to find an old friend I haven't seen in a long time. I'm truly thankful."

Bauble laid the stone back on the pavement and smiled at him. "Well, make it up to me later, will ya? Oh, weird person!" She glanced at Curio. "Thanks for the shiny!" And with that, the bird picked the ruby back and bobbed her head to them as she took off in the air, disappearing past the buildings.

"Weird," Curio said, "imagine you, hangin' around with a Mon like that."

"What do you think I'm doing right now?" Shine said with a grin.

Curio kicked his behind, which they both laughed off. They strolled through the beach, passing by a couple and their Pokemon that passed a ball over a net (wasn't it cheating to use a flying-type Pokemon for volleyball?), some sunbathers as their red faces caught the rays, and other things that eventually faded into the background. Curio didn't seem to take much notice in it, and Shine was starting to worry that he was boring her again.

Eventually, they decided to go up a path that led to the cliffside, which gave them a good view of the town from up high. The amusements they had passed by moments ago was just a speck beside the blue chunk of sea, and down below the edge, they could see both the aquarium and the marine centre.

"So," Curio said, "what does Tony actually do? I know he dives and stuff."

"That's only a small part of the job. A lot of it is just checking out the environment by the seaside, examining the life there and collecting data based off of it. If any Pokemon's in serious danger, his job is to help rescue and rehabilitate them."

"Sounds exciting."

"I've heard it can be, but he says it's mostly just dealing with paperwork."

"Eh, maybe not then."

Curio stopped, taking a closer look at the building, which was connected to the back of the aquarium and functioned as a backdoor office to it. She squinted her eyes at it, or rather through it, as Shine had seen that look quite a few times whenever she was about to read something's aura. She looked back to Shine and put a paw on her chin quizzically.

"Say, what do you call those Pokemon that have arms and such, but their lower half is just a fin?"

"Is this the start of a joke?"

"Not this time."

"Ah, well." He hadn't checked out what the office was working on the day he heard the news surrounding Curio. Tony seemed to be busier than usual since he got back, but it didn't occur to him until the aura Pokemon mentioned it. He turned on his golden vision to confirm her description, and true to her word, there was a finned Pokemon that rested in some sort of aquatic chamber. If he remembered correctly, that Pokemon was...

"A Primarina."

"Huh," Curio said, "strange. How did that get here?"

"It's not exceedingly rare to have Alolan Pokemon wash up on this shore, but I've never seen something as big as that here before."

"Oh yeah?" She took a few steps forward. "Well, let's check it out."

"We can't," Shine said, stopping her. "I'm only really allowed in on the best of days, and that's only because I'm with Tony. Why would they let a random Lucario waltz in?"

"Well, I could just say I'm his new Pokemon and leave it at that. But why not sneak in?"

"Absolutely not. If they're resting, it's extremely important that we don't disturb them. We don't know why they're there in the first place."

"Well, we can try to take a closer peek, can't we?"

"No," he said flatly.

Curio crossed her arms. "I don't like your attitude. Who peed in your water bowl this morning, for god's sake?"

"That's got nothing to do with that. I'm just following his rules, as you should do this time too."

"Yeah." She shook her metal fist. "Of course you would, like any good Pokemon leashed to its master."

She stormed off, making her way further down the path as Shine tried to catch up with her. This again. Where was this coming from? His heart beat faster as Curio's paws inched dangerously closer to the cliff-face.

"Let's not argue about this now, please! Why does everything have to circle back to me being his Pokemon all the time?"

"I dunno!" she yelled. "Why can't you just take a risk for once?"

"This isn't about that, this is about the other Pokemon there. Try thinking about someone else for once."

"And who came along with you for this interview, huh?!" Her feet stomped on the rocky floor, still inching closer to the edge.

"Curio, please, get away from the edge, you're gonna fall!"

"Stop tellin' me what to do, Shine! I-" A rock broke out from under her left paw, making her slip off the edge.

Shine gasped, too shocked for words at first. She… fell. Just like that. Seeing that just now triggered a certain gap in his memory. Something… happened to her, but he had no time to dwell on that, only going by instinct. When he gathered himself, he scrambled immediately to where Curio had fallen, heart beating in his throat. He couldn't see her anywhere below, not even in mid air as he could only see the yellow surface of the beach.

"Curio!" he shouted, "answer me if you're there, Curio! Curio!"

"Hey," a distant voice called, "to your right!"

Shine glanced to his side and saw Curio huddled near the cliff, hanging onto the wall with all four limbs nestled in the crevices. From far away, she craned her neck to look up to him.

"Oh, thank goodness you're—" he yelped when he realised her predicament- "wait, what am I doing, I need to send for help!"

"No need! I just have to scale down a bit so I can reach the shore. If I can reach my foot down."

"I can't just leave you hanging there!"

"Sure you can, I'll be fine, I just have to..." Curio's voice trailed off. Shine looked down to see she was kicking at the wall to see where she could put her paw. She struggled for a while, then stopped.

" _Bugger._ Um, Shine, there isn't a way down, and I'm not riskin' the climb up there. I'm gonna do something very stupid. Meet me back down at the shore." Without warning, Curio leapt off.

"Curio!" he screamed. No, not there, not this again. Shine bolted through the rest of the cliff's path, kicking gravel into the air along the way. He had to make sure she was alright. For his sake. To stop that from happening again. Eventually, he reached the stairs that lead to the beach area, and ran. The blue dot there was all he was anchored to. Was it laying still? No, it was moving. Curio was moving. Once he reached her side, he saw her in full, as she seemed unscathed.

"Curio!" Shine charged over to her. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'll be alright," she said with a smile. "Can you fetch that bag for me please?" Shine nodded and brought it to her, which she clutched with her metal arm. "I might have to head to the Pokemon Centre later though."

Shine cocked his head. "Why?"

"Well-" Curio winced as she raised her right arm, which limped and bent at an odd angle- "that should be reason enough."

Shine gasped. He stared at the other arm Curio just broke, and a cluster of thoughts rushed in at once.

"Why, your arm, what are you g-going to do?! I-I mean, how did that happen? How are they going to replace it? Why-"

"Don't lay an egg over it. It can be patched up in just a few hours," Curio said as she knelt up, supporting herself with her metal arm firmly on the ground. "They can fix cuts and broken bones of course. See this bad boy for example?" She traced her hand over the large scar which stretched from her muzzle over to the left side of her face. "Really nasty crap happened to me with that, and I made it out fine."

Shine sighed in relief. No, he told himself, it wasn't like the arm where— never mind. Don't dwell on it. As long as blood cells could be regenerated or existing bone tissue could be fixed and reconnected, it wasn't a problem. Same went for his ribs back in the fight. That much relieved him. But seeing that happen to Curio, he felt a fiery urge deep in his gut, something he couldn't quite explain, but burned within him with the heat of the spiciest herbs in Kalos. He just knew that couldn't happen again.

He sunk his paws deep into the sand, then, taking one pace back, tackled Curio, knocking her to the ground.

"Shine, what the-"

"Don't scare me like that, dammit!" Shine roared in her face. "You've got to be more careful around these parts, I don't even know what would happen if I lost you here suddenly! What were you thinking?!"

Curio scoffed, cracking a nervous smile. "I've survived worse; I'm not some hatchling, y'know."

"I know that, but—" he strayed away from her, then kicked a lump of sand behind him- "I don't like seeing you get hurt, in general, I mean. Just… it's too painful. Please, don't…"

He was on the verge of tears again. Why that, of all things? He couldn't even pay attention to his surroundings at that point; he just looked down at the grainy floor beneath him, trying to ground himself. It was fine. It wasn't like that before. Why was he worrying so much? Yet, why wouldn't that awful feeling go away, that sense of impending doom he felt in that moment she fell? The sand sank underneath his feet. The sinkhole sucked him in. It-

"Hey," Curio said. One pat on the back from his friend pulled him back into reality. Then another, which got Shine's attention that time as he looked back at the Lucario. Her eyes showed a bit of remorse. "You know what, forget it. It was stupid of me to pop off like that. You okay now?"

After some consideration and a few deep breaths, Shine nodded, however reluctantly. "I think I've had enough for today."

"Alright. Can you just take me back to the Pokemon Centre?"

Well, it was on the way back home, so there was no harm in dropping her off there. He was about to head off, only to catch sight of a few passers by eyeing them from a distance. Curio's fall must've caused a scene. To that, Curio snarled, clutching her bad arm.

" _Oh, take a picture, it freaking lasts longer!"_

The crowd dispersed from there.

* * *

The last leg of the trip passed in silence. Even though the rest of the town was still as busy as ever, Shine drowned out the noises of the crowd as his thoughts stewed on the events that passed in the past few hours. Never mind the fall; what was Curio playing at before? From what he remembered of the past, she didn't seem that aggressive, but now, he felt like he had to traipse his paws through a path of eggshells to talk with her. If this way how she behaved on a regular day, how would she act when going down to Tony's again, after yesterday's excursion, or today's prank?

Then, Curio broke the silence.

"Sorry I'm bein' an _ass_ at the moment."

Shine muttered a reply, not wanting to agree or disagree with her.

"I've got no excuse for it, it's just the way I am sometimes, I guess."

"Whatever." Shine grumbled. He tried to rationalise it in his head, since 'no excuse' wasn't really a good answer. Then, what about her trainer? A lump in his throat formed just thinking about it, but he had to press her further. "Was your trainer really that bad?"

Curio stopped in her tracks, scowling at Shine. "Don't—"

"No, please, hear me out. If he was… you know, then I do understand." A pause. Neither of them responded. "I don't want it to feel like it's just a one-sided thing, me asking you for help with this GeL report." He frowned. "Our friendship shouldn't be like that."

More silence, with the Wingull singing their evening song above, and the fading chatter of the beachgoers as they walked past the duo. Curio opened her mouth, then stopped, then opened it again.

"My trainer was a girl, by the way." The anger in her eyes faded. "Look, it's… complicated. And no, it's not as bad as you're thinking; just not something I wanna talk about yet."

"Alright, I'll respect that. Just in case you do, though, I'm here."

"I know." She sighed, continuing her stroll along with Shine. "And it's not a one-sided thing, I'm getting just as much out of this as you are, even if it might not look it."

"Well, thanks," he said, reassured for now. They were getting closer to their destination. "Are you sure you want to come back tonight though?"

Curio nodded vigorously. "Of course! I wanna talk about what happened at GeL, and I really wanna pick Tony's brain about it as well! I just need to cool off a bit while I'm at the centre."

"Alright," he said with a sigh. He was glad she'd be returning, but this was looking to be one long day already. Speaking of the centre, Shine stopped, as the building with the red adorned top was in front of him. "We're here. Can you take yourself in?"

"Yeah," Curio said, heading towards the double doors. She turned, but before she entered, she grabbed something out of her satchel and did something with her paws, hidden from Shine's sight. Finally, she turned, revealing his bag of cookies with something hidden inside the plastic. "There ya go." She tossed them over to him, which Shine successfully caught with his teeth. Finally, Curio smirked. "Thanks for showin' me around and stuff. See ya, Sunshine."

Begrudgingly, he couldn't help but return the smile.

* * *

 **Chapter 16 Patchnotes (11/02/20):**

General scene tweaks with more added stuff about Curio's former trainer at the end.


	17. Interlude - Ambrette's Diners

Shine headed back home to the apartment and cooled himself down as he lay in a shady spot. It had turned quiet without Curio, a silence he could've done with after his argument with her. The breeze came in lightly through the window; the toy Chimecho rattling with the wind. The clock ticked in the background. It would've been a couple more hours until Tony came back home.

To pass the time, he thought he'd check the network for any new messages, and he clicked in silence: nothing new from Barley or anyone else. Shine entertained the idea of sending him a message instead, just to say hello, but as he stared at the blank text box, he might as well have been mute as no words could escape his lips. He had a history of making new contacts on that site, only to get too cramped up to reply back.

He abandoned the idea and went back to his usual pastime, getting a fantasy book out from his makeshift shelf and picking a spot in the indoor shade to continue where he left off. Sometimes, it was nice to escape into a completely different world, after all. Even ones that had entirely different ecosystems from his: ones without Pokemon, or ones that had Pokemon without humans, like the Mystery Dungeon games. Sometimes, he toyed with making his own worlds, but those would never be realized.

In the midst of this, he pawed at the bag of cookies Hilda gave him and popped one biscuit in his mouth, savouring its crunchy texture as he read. Then another. Then another. It wasn't until the fourth time he reached out that he picked something else: a photo with those familiar blue ears in the frame. So that's what she hid inside the plastic.

On closer inspection, the photo revealed a shot of Curio together with the girl she mentioned, who had somewhat long hair and wore that signature cap that signified her status as a trainer. The outfit and badges also highlighted that fact. That Lucario stuck her tongue out in the picture while her trainer struck a dumb pose with a Mothim perched on her shoulder, slightly out of frame. Most likely printed from a selfie. This seemed like an innocent scene, so again, why did Curio seem so hostile towards that girl? Never mind that, the most bizarre thing about the picture was Curio's metal arm, which was wrapped in bandages. It didn't hide the fact it was noticeably human-like, but it had the illusion of being more normal. Which again, was odd on its own if Curio kept her arm unwrapped now.

Never mind. He wasn't getting anywhere by dwelling on that. At least Curio gave him more info, which he could discuss with her later, but anyway, back to reading.

Shine read on and on. The ticking of the clock grew louder. He fidgeted in his spot. All the while, there was that lingering feeling of dread, not from forgetting something, but rather, missing something. He glanced at the clock. Only half an hour had passed. He wondered if the clock was fast or slow. Then he shook his head.

This wasn't an unusual day for him to be on his own, and sometimes, that's all he wanted, to be alone, but after spending time with Curio for so long, Shine was at a loss for himself. He stopped reading and paced around the room, figuring out what he should do. The treatment of her arm wouldn't be for a couple of hours or so. He wasn't particularly worried about her well-being, since again, broken bones could've been repaired. Then why had he flipped out at her like that?

Something tugged at the back of his mind. It was a niggle, but the sensation was there all the same. The vague memory of seeing her, back in there, back in that room, strapped to the...

Shine shook his head and looked to the front door. If all he was going to do was wait for time to pass, he might as well have done it where there were people, and where he had a purpose to wait rather than lounging around the house all day. It was decided. He carried the book in his mouth and left the apartment.

He continued reading once he got to the waiting area of the Pokemon centre. Even though he did basically the same thing as he would've in the comfort of his own home, time passed much quicker than in lonely silence. Plus, having people and Pokemon to listen in on every once in a while gave him a sense of belonging, even though he came on his own.

Shine read a few hundred pages of his book before something prodded his side. He looked up and there Curio was, holding her paw up to him as if she hadn't broken it moments ago.

"Is everything alright, now?" Shine said.

"Yup!" Curio said, "Good as new. Again, sorry about earlier."

"That's fine," he said with a smile. "Honestly, I'm just glad you're alright, even though I knew you'd be fine."

"Uh huh, so now whaddo we do?"

"Let's see..." Shine glanced at the big clock in the centre and stood up. "Tony should be back by now, actually. If you have nowhere else to go, you can have dinner with us."

"Please. What's on the menu for today?"

"Steak."

"Ooh, awesome!" Curio rubbed her paws together.

"If you're polite, I'm sure Tony will let you have some."

"I will!"

Shine picked his book up and headed outside with Curio, as they walked in the light of the orange sky. Another beautiful end to the day in Ambrette. His Lucario companion seemed a bit more upbeat this time, walking with a new spring in her step. The trip back to the apartment was nothing to write home about, as Shine carrying his book in his mouth made conversation tricky. As they went up the stairs and stood outside the front door, however, he spat his book out and turned to Curio.

"I got your photo, by the way," Shine said.

"You did?" she replied.

"Yes." He didn't want to add onto the baggage between the former Pokemon-trainer duo, so he let her fill in the blanks if she had anything to say. Perhaps his aura would do the talking for him.

"She printed that for me," she said, wrapping her paw around her metal arm, "right before I left her _ass_ behind. Well, she let me go, so… again, complicated. I guess that was one of her parting gifts."

He hummed to himself, taking that in. Still didn't seem as hostile as she made it sound.

"Did you want it back?"

"Nah, you hang onto it for now. I don't like lookin' at it that much myself."

Again, he wouldn't give an answer for that. Thinking about the way she talked to Tony before-

"I'll make it up to your trainer, though," Curio said with a sad smile. "I… well, you'll see when I head in."

"Alright," Shine said, smiling back. "Just as long as we can put this behind us."

"You got it, Sunny."

She held her paw out in a fist, and in turn, Shine bumped his paw against hers. He'd go in first to see the master of the house just to give him notice about Curio, who he asked to wait outside for a little moment. So, he entered, leaving his book behind for the moment, then joined Tony as he rested on the couch.

 _"Hello,"_ Shine said. _"Hope you didn't have too much trouble rushing into work."_

"It's fine," Tony said, smiling as he put his arm around Shine. "I got there just in time, but still, I don't know what the hell happened back then. Well, I have a hunch."

" _What h..."_ Shine trailed off and purred. His one weakness was Tony stroking him in that certain sweet spot at his side. Well technically speaking, ground attacks were his main weakness, but as far as weaknesses went, this was one of the better ones to have.

"How's Curio?" Tony said, taking his hand off.

 _"Oh, yes, she's fine. Listen."_ Shine sat up, looking his trainer in the eye. _"Do you mind if she joins us for dinner tonight? I know it might be a bit of a tall order considering, well, you know."_

He nodded. "I don't mind. I got an extra steak from shopping so that will save it going to waste. Where is she anyway?"

 _"Just outside. Can I let her in now?"_

"Of course."

Shine leapt off the seat and stood on his hind-legs to pull the door open. There, Curio waited outside, facing the glittering seaside view as her legs poked out of the railing. Her ears perked up and she craned her neck towards Shine.

"Is it cool to come in now?" she said, to which, Shine nodded. Curio stood up and came in with him to the living room, propping the book on a shelf on the way there. When she locked eyes with Tony, he smiled at her, but she didn't smile back. A moment passed. The clock still ticked.

 _"Ahem,"_ Shine said, _"I believe Curio wants to say something to you."_

 _"Oh, do I?"_ Curio said, laughing nervously. _"Um, what is there to say?"_

Shine nudged her leg, giving her a pointed look.

 _"Right."_ She clasped her paws together. _"Tony, I'm sorry for the trouble I caused today. I planted that bucket outside your house. I didn't mean anythin' by it, I just had to get it outta my system, that's all."_

Tony raised an eyebrow.

 _"And-"_ Curio continued- _"I'm sorry for actin' like an ass last night too. And calling your place a shithole. It's a very nice place, actually. Very, uh, what's it called, modernist?"_

"Something like that." To diffuse the tension, Tony smirked and batted a hand at her. "But that's alright. Everything turned out fine in the end, so no need to worry." He shielded his mouth with his hand. "It's actually kind of funny, looking back on it."

 _"So,"_ Curio said, putting a paw on her hip, _"you're not mad or anythin'?"_

"Don't see any reason to be now."

 _"Oh, come on!"_ Curio pointed at him. _"After all that, you're still not gonna put up a fight? Say something! Anything!"_

Oh god, it was happening again.

"Curio," Shine growled, "why are you behaving like this?"

"I just don't get it! How he's still letting me into his house is beyond me. Like, what part of his brain is missing to make him actually give a damn? Why-"

Tony stood up, approaching her. Curio stopped and took a step back, glancing to the side.

"Curio," Tony said, "please look at me."

She complied. Shine stood beside her and saw Tony's confident gaze: not without scorn, but relaxed enough to appear understanding.

"I will be honest, I wasn't expecting you to react the way you did last night, and you could've handled it a lot better. If this was anybody else, I would've told them to get the hell off of my property."

 _"Why keep me here at all then?"_ she said, pouting.

"Because I want to help you. You and Shine both went through a lot of trouble to get here, and after being apart from each other for so long, I can see you're conflicted, and probably just want to vent. This doesn't excuse your behaviour, but I understand what you're going through."

She glowered at him. _"No you don't. How could you get anything us Pokemon go through? All the shit I had to suffer just to get here, and you say you understand what I'm going through, in this comfy house of yours?"_

This was getting worse by the minute. Then again, there was a time when Shine felt the same way too. For him to eat from garbage cans, only to meet Tony who seemed to have no problems with his life at the time, he used to look at his world through green eyes as well.

More ticking. A deep breath from Curio, then Tony as he broke the silence.

"You're right. I'm not a Pokemon. I'll never know what it means to be one. But given my job, I've helped out a few marine Pokemon in my lifetime, and believe me, I've seen how harsh their world is at sea."

" _And me as well,"_ Shine said. _"I've had to tell him some horrible things about their pasts."_

"Indeed. And of course, I relate to what Shine went through himself. I mean, at this point, he's a good friend of mine, so how could I not?"

Curio clutched her arm again.

"Anyway, maybe 'understand' isn't the right word. I empathise with what you're going through, whatever it is. If we make it far with this documentary, I hope to know more about you through that as well. So, let's start again." Tony held his hand out to her. "Can we forget either of us are human or Pokemon and just get along as people?"

Curio's mouth opened. She stared at the hand for a moment, the breeze still blowing from the window. Then, she gazed at Tony and smiled.

 _"Yeah,"_ she shook his hand, _"sure."_

"Thank you. It's nice to make your acquaintance at last, Curio."

" _And you, Tony."_

* * *

Finally, Curio played nice with Tony and didn't kill him in the process. Now Shine could relax, especially since he was having dinner together with them now in the dining area.

There were three plates worth of steaks with cheese topped potatoes on the table, accustomed to each diner's liking and physical capabilities. Both Pokemon and trainer ate as quietly as possible while Curio tore into hers, still using the cutlery, but making somewhat of a mess on the table in the process. After she was done, she groaned, reclining in her seat while the two were still halfway through their dinner.

 _"That was the tits,"_ Curio said, _"thanks, Tony."_

"You're welcome," he said in the midst of slicing his own steak.

 _"So, I was wonderin', since me and Shine went near the place you work at and stuff, what's up with that Primarina?"_

Tony put his cutlery down and stared at the two.

"Uh, how do you know about that?"

 _"My aura, duh,"_ Curio said, pointing to herself. _"Plus, Shine can see through walls and stuff."_

"Yeah, I guess it was bound to come out sooner or later." Tony wrung his hands together. "It was supposed to be kept a secret, though."

 _"And why's that?"_

"Well, we're treating them at the moment, so unless we can get to the bottom of what's wrong with them, it shouldn't be revealed to the public."

Curio frowned. _"Again, why? You're being kinda vague here."_

"Yeah," Tony said, rubbing his head. "Unfortunately, that's for their own protection. If people find out they washed up here, we'll be hounded with questions from the press, and we don't want that until they're able to make a full recovery."

" _Who's they? Someone famous?"_

"You'll see."

Curio shrugged and muttered a reply.

 _"So,"_ Shine said, _"what happened to them?"_

"In the morning on the day you left, they washed by the cove with a hole in its back." Tony formed a circle with his hand the size of a golf ball. "We hope it's nothing sinister; it might've been just a small tussle with a wild water Pokemon. In any case, we were surprised they didn't die due to blood loss or hypothermia, but as soon as we saw them, we wheeled them into surgery. They're fine now, but they've been unconscious ever since."

Shine eyed his own plate. _"I see."_

"But-" Tony said, skewering a cutlet with his fork and pointing it at the two- "That's where you lot might come in handy, if you're up for it. Once they wake up, you can relay what happened to us. Perhaps they have a trainer already, as most starters do. It might just be a cut and dry case."

 _"Will the staff mind, since it was supposed to be private?"_ Shine said, to which, Tony shook his head.

"It's a bit too late for it now, I think. As long as you don't tell anyone else, they'll be willing to take you on board. Can I trust you both to keep it a secret?"

The two nodded.

"Alright then." Tony chomped on his mouthful of beef. "Leth finith up and we can thtarth the intherthiew."

After the two finished their dinner, Curio stepped in and asked if she could clean in Tony's stead. That was her way of making it up to him after all the arguing. She took several trips back and forth from the dining area to the kitchen and started work on cleaning as Shine supervised, whilst Tony was setting up the studio again. She glared at the row of unclean dishes, including a pan that had turned black with grease, and turned to Shine.

"Okay, how do I do this again?"

"Just fill up the basin with warm soapy water and scrub away."

She did her duties without much of an issue, although it took some getting used to at first since Curio scrubbed with her paw while her artificial hand held the dishes in place. From how durable that arm looked, its grip probably could've crushed a Geodude if she willed it to. She ended up breaking one or two plates and a glass on the way, but Shine assured her it was no skin off Tony's nose. He observed the way she interacted with everything as if it was some alien artefact, staring at the tap for one minute before Shine had to remind her water came from there. He thought she would've grown accustomed to domestic life after staying in the facility for so long. Still, Shine smiled throughout, glad that the two had finally patched things up to some extent.

When she was finished, the two got back to Tony's studio and Curio sat in her usual spot on the interviewee's couch. Like before, Shine sat with Tony as his trainer powered up the camera and prepared his notes.

"So, all ready?"

 _"Hell yeah,"_ Curio said with a smile. Tony counted down and hit the REC button.

"This is interview B, segment GeL, take one. After you came along with Azzy and Mack, you were taken to the facility Gestalt Learning, or GeL for short. How long did you stay there for?"

Curio gave him a sour look.

 _"Didn't Shine tell you how long already?"_

"Yes, but just tell me as if I didn't, for the uninformed viewer."

 _"But we aren't-"_ Curio stopped, then shrugged. _"Whatever. I stayed there for four years and a bit. I was meant to stay for five, but..."_ Her voice trailed off and she sighed. _"Something happened. I'd rather not talk about that yet."_

"Understandable. So, what was the purpose of the facility?"

 _"Well, it was meant to be what school is to you humans. They not only trained us in every way imaginable, they also taught us a lot about the world and best of all, how to speak. We were encouraged to follow our own passions as well, so the lessons were catered to our interests. If everything went as planned, they were gonna take us to this scientific convention thingy, and set us up for whatever jobs we pleased afterwards."_

"So, what would you say it was like, in general?"

Curio smiled.

 _"To be honest, and this will sound weird, but warts and all, I had a great time there, at first. I got to meet other cool Pokemon, we had fun when we were able to, and I got a lot of support from the staff. Seriously though, I don't know how I'd stand livin' as a Pokemon if I didn't learn all the stuff I did back there."_

"But," Tony said, looking to his right side, "what about your arm?"

In response, she clutched it and grimaced.

 _"Next question."_

"Alright, understandable. So when you arrived, before the lessons started, what was your first day like?"

 _"First day, hmm."_ Curio held up one digit. _"Yeah, you know what they say about your first days of school, right? Of course, I can't speak like I'm an expert on it, I mean, look at me, but I've been coached enough about the world and seen enough flicks to guess what it's like._

 _"Picture yourself as the snot-nosed kid, for instance, who's just turned old enough to wipe his own ass. His parents send him off to regular school, or trainer school or whatever you humans usually go to, and after they get out of their car and send you off, it feels like you're never gonna see 'em again. But you leave anyway and go into the school building cause you want to see where the day takes you. You're excited to learn, so you think, what's the worst that could happen? Then, as soon as you step into that classroom, that's when it hits you. You've got kids with many different egos and tempers coming together, some that come from the same sheltered background as you, and others that have been through worse and won't take any of your crap. Imagine them coming together in the same room with no one to guide you, and you realise it's the first time you've ever been alone in the world._

 _"Think of that the same way here, except those kids were actually monsters that could've burnt your face to a crisp."_

* * *

 **Chapter 17 Patchnotes (11/02/20):**

More information about Curio's former trainer as well as additional dialogue between Curio and Shine. These will be the last of the revisions for now pre-hiatus.


	18. First Day's Daze

Having grown up on the island, especially as spring came in, I saw a lot of colours. Blue, green, yellow, brown, more blue, for my family of course, and all its different mixtures in the sky. Since I saw those same colours for so long, I was startled whenever something unnatural came onto the island, like a metallic boat, for instance.

Now take that and apply it to an entire room coated in grey, with only bright red lights to illuminate anything. That's where I found myself the first thing after I got out of the Pokeball. A chill ran through my spine all the way to my tail. I span around in a circle, trying to make sense of the room, which was spacious, but felt completely closed off as there were no passages outside as far as I could see. I turned to see Azzy and Mack, which soothed those jitters, but found them coming back when I realised I was still in that darkly lit room.

"What is this?" I said.

"We're in the quarantine bay at the moment."

"Quarantine?"

"Yeah, just to make sure you're clean of anything that could contaminate the rest."

I stared at my feet. Being little dumb me, not knowing what 'quarantine' or 'contamination' meant, it didn't put me at ease. Then, Azzy's round paw grabbed mine, and he smiled.

"It's not easy for anyone the first time around, so you're not alone. I'll hold your hand the whole way through, okay?"

I glanced at Mack briefly, who was in the same chamber as us. My heart still pounded. But if another Pokemon or a human was in the same boat as me, that was reassuring enough. I squeezed his paw tightly and kept close to him. Even when the beeping made me squirm, I still didn't let go. It kept on beeping. Beeping still. Then, gas came in from a series of vents, enveloping the whole room in a fog where it blanketed the towering human's face, and eventually, Azzy's as well, to the point where I couldn't see his paw. I felt it, so that was what mattered. Just a moment later, my breaths got more ragged as I inhaled more of it, and my heart beeped faster. I thought my lungs would collapse or something.

I clutched his paw in a death grip, so much so that it felt like I was crushing it, but it was either that or end up screaming the place down. After a moment, I could breathe normally and something sucked out all the gas that came in. Eventually, I saw their faces again. I let go of his paw and collapsed. Thankfully, he caught me before I could get acquainted with the ground, and he embraced me, patting me on the back, repeating the fact that I did a good job. If standing around meant doing a good job, I dunno what doing a bad job would entail.

A gate opened, letting white light into the room. I thought it came from the outdoors. In an attempt to get out of that greyer than grey room, I dashed to the entrance as Azzy and co. ran after me. What I found was another cold looking room. It was white, which was an improvement to the depressing grey, but it wasn't warm like the clouds, but cold like, well, an empty void. It was as featureless as the last room, but more cramped as it was a hallway with people in white suits lined up in a row. Again, there was no exit in sight at the end. I turned to the duo, holding my chest, and Azzy took my paw again.

"It will be fine, just do as they say and you'll be able to relax afterwards."

I only nodded. I wasn't in the mood for arguing at that moment.

Azzy walked ahead of me and approached the first strange face: a woman in an apron. She knelt down to my level and smiled.

 _"Come,"_ she said, as plainly as I could understand it. That was when Azzy released me. I turned to him, about to gesture for help when he patted me on the shoulder.

"It's alright, she'll just be taking you for a wash."

"But I'm already clean!" I said. I probably wasn't, considering showers were an alien concept to me back then, but I wanted a good excuse not to be taken away from the familiar Pokemon. He just nodded and guided my paw to the woman's hand, who took me down another hallway into a wetroom with a bath in it. Before I had the chance to consider what its purpose was, the woman closed the door behind me. I dunno why, but I panicked. I ran to the door and banged on it, calling for Azzy's help, but of course, I was already there.

I looked up to the knob. Seeing no other way out, I tried to jump to turn it, but my paw barely scraped it. The woman picked me up from behind, and fearing the worst, I kicked and screamed in her clutches, which of course, didn't work. She had a damn strong grip for a human, I must say. She lowered me into the bath, which I started to splash around in, but as soon as I adjusted to the warm sensation of the water, I stopped and sat still. Even though I was stuck in the unknown, that water had a soothing effect on me, and I forgot about what had happened soon enough.

Which reminds me, I went to a few hot springs after I got out, and god, that was nice. That sort of stuff, bathing in hot water, is supposed to calm your nerves, after all, although I can't remember why. I'm surprised I haven't seen any bathhouses since I got here in Kalos. Maybe we should look it up one day and find out.

Anyway, the woman scrubbed me clean of all the grime I had accumulated before. I squirmed as she coursed the brushes through my coat, but unlike before, I didn't kick up a fuss. It was over before it even started, as she picked me back up and stood me up in a drying pod, which felt like G-force in my face. It got the job done quickly, and soon enough, she opened the door and chaperoned me back to the hallway where Azzy and co. waited. He took my paw again and proceeded to the next person in line: a man in a white coat, standing next to a gate.

 _"Go,"_ he said in the same plain manner. I looked at the gate in front of me. From what I know now, it must've been one of those scanners that detects broken bones, viruses, imbalances in your body, and anything else you can think of that might need treating. He must've been there to report it in case there was anything wrong with me. Since I had already been rubbed down by a total stranger, I didn't fear much worse, so I took a deep breath and walked through. It beeped once. Azzy joined me not long after, saying everything was clear and that there was nothing to worry about. Again, not much consolation, but an A for effort, I suppose. So he took my paw one more time and walked me over to the last person in line: another woman in a white coat, except she had equipment around her neck, probably a stethoscope or whatever you call it. She gestured to a seat low enough for me to sit on. I looked to Azzy.

"What does she want now?"

"Well." Azzy put another paw around me and rubbed my back. "She'll be here to give you some vaccines, to protect yourself from any diseases that might come go around. This means she'll have to give you some shots from a needle. Now listen." He knelt down on one knee and embraced me. "You need to be extra calm for this. You might be startled at first, but we need to do this to keep you healthy. Do you understand?"

I nodded, but was still unsure. "What is it anyway?"

He glanced at the human, and on queue, she drew out something sharp looking that gleamed in the lamplight. My heart sunk.

"Oh," I said. "No no no, wait, you're not gonna stick that into me, are you?"

"Alright, alright," he said, stroking my head, "It's scary, there's no sugarcoating that. But we wouldn't force you to do this if we didn't believe it's for your own good. Look." He stood up and smiled. "Why don't I demonstrate? It'll be my first time giving myself up as a lab Rattata. It might be fun."

He said a few words in human, and the woman drew out another needle and gestured for him to sit with a bemused expression. He sat, stock still, as she injecting something into him. He grunted as she stuck it in, but only for a second or two. It was pretty much over as soon as it started. She applied the plaster over the wound and he leapt to my side.

"See? It's not so bad! You'll only feel a pinch like I did, so it'll be okay! Are you ready?"

I took a deep breath. My heartbeat steadied. After seeing him go through the same thing, the process looked normal, so I knew everything would turn out okay.

At last, I nodded and climbed up to the chair, where the woman held her hand out to me and smiled. I couldn't help but look up, and her eyes were relaxed, but still had an air of caution to it. I laid my paw out. She caressed it, turning it over to inspect it, then she marked the spot where the injection was supposed to be. She held the needle again, and I squirmed in my seat, but her smile reassured me once more. It would only be a few seconds, I told myself. I closed my eyes, letting my guard down for just those few seconds, and true to his word, I did feel a slight pinch. The woman patted me on the back with a gloved hand to let me know it was alright to go, and handed me some candy in a wrapper.

"Thanks!" I said, even if she couldn't understand me. She just smiled and lowered me to the floor where Azzy waited.

"Alright now?" he said. I just shrugged. It was done, so I wanted to get it out of my head as soon as possible. At least I got a reward out of it.

To this day, needles still suck. I'd rather sit on a Pawniard's head than do that again.

As I sucked on the lemony sweet, Azzy led me to the security door where the Machamp stood, whose four arms took me by surprise. He was clearly a Pokemon, yet he wore a uniform like that of a human, with black security clothing and even shoes. How many Pokemon could you say really need shoes, if any clothes at all? My curiosity got the better of me and I tiptoed to try and get eye contact. He leered at me.

"One of the new subjects, huh?" he said. "Of course, they had to fill their token Riolu quota."

I had no idea what he was talking about, but one question still burned on my tongue.

"Um, why do you need the four arms? Aren't two enough?"

"Why do you need just two arms?" he teased in the same tone. A part of me felt insulted, but before I could call him out on it, Azzy groaned.

"Now, now, Henry. We don't need you winding up our students."

"Whatever, just messin'." He turned to the human. _"_ _How many of 'em are left?"_ I couldn't understand Mack still, but whatever he said made Henry raise an eyebrow. Not that Machamp had any.

 _"Huh. They're bringing somethin' like that here?"_

Mack said something that sounded like 'yes'. Machamp shrugged.

 _"Never mind. If there are only a few left, that means I can watch my reruns sooner. Right then."_ He smiled and fiddled with parts of the door before squeezing the handle. "Welcome aboard."

He opened the door, bringing the first flashes of colour into the previously bleak insides of the building. The walls were painted all sorts of colours, green, yellow, you name it, with all sorts of bright patterns adorning them. Both humans and Pokemon walked through the corridors, carrying themselves as if they had important business to take care of. Then, Azzy took my paw and walked me in alongside his human partner. The door closed behind us.

"Well," Azzy said, "This is it. We'll show you around soon enough once you've met everybody."

I cocked my head. "Everybody?"

"Yes. It'll be good to know all the Pokemon you'll be staying with, after all. So, are you ready?"

Butterfree swarmed in my stomach. Truth be told, I wasn't sure if I was ready to meet any more strangers yet. It sounds weird saying that now, considering I barely have a problem with it as a Lucario. Hell, one motto I go by is that a stranger's just a friend you haven't met. Or maybe I stole it from some show. Anyway, considering all I had before then was my family, being dropped in to stay with Pokemon I hadn't met before was new to me. Then, I remembered how desperate I was to get off the island in order to meet new Pokemon, so I took a deep breath and told myself I was excited instead of nervous. I smiled at Azzy.

"Yeah, let's go."

Paw in paw, he led me through the various corridors of the place, each drenched in different colours, until I caught a glimpse of leaf green from behind a glass door. The excitement in my stomach worked itself up to my chest as we walked up. It opened for us, bringing a cool breeze into the stuffy building, and revealed a forest like area with many different trees forming a wall around the room. Well, room wasn't quite the right word. It felt so natural that it didn't feel like one at all. Hell, I couldn't even see the ceiling as that looked like the sky as well. I looked down and true to Azzy's word, there were many Pokemon of different shapes and sizes doing various things in one spot. Some of them mingled with one another. Some swam in shallow ponds. There were also a few that were entirely on their own, one on land, sitting by itself, and one perched on a branch. Azzy patted my shoulder and smiled.

"These are most of the Pokemon you'll get to know. There will be more on the way. After we've got everybody in, we'll show you all around, alright?"

I nodded, and Azzy bowed before turning his back to me and heading towards the corridor.

"Wait!" I called for his attention. "Where're you going?"

"I have to take care of a few things, but I'll be back soon. Have fun."

With that, he walked away, and I looked to all the new faces, who stared back at me.

Okay, this might get a little confusing, so bear with me. There were a lot of Pokemon there I didn't exactly know the names of at the time, so for now, let's call them by their species names. I know Shine probably briefed you on who they were, but this is gonna be a headache for you if I rattle off everybody's life story one by one. We cool?

Anyway, the group of new Pokemon stared in silence. The forest-like area was strangely silent, only interrupted by the lone Starly that occasionally chirped from atop of the tree. Even the two Pokemon that swam, Buizel and Bidoof, rested their chins on the bank to look at me. I wasn't sure how to break the ice myself, that tingling sensation churning my stomach. Then, mercifully, the Lickitung stepped forward.

"So you're our new arrival, huh?" he said, and gave me his paw. "It's nice to meet you. I'm a Lickitung, although you can call me Basil."

Thankful to see another friendly face, I smiled and gave my paw to him as well. A moment passed. Then he gently took the other paw and shook ours together.

"You're usually supposed to shake it in return." Some of the other Pokemon chuckled in the background. I would've flushed red if I could.

"Sorry. I can't say I have a name either."

"It's no biggie," he said, "I'm sure we'll come up with one together at some point. Now, I'm sure everybody would like to get to know you, so why don't you tell us how you got here?"

"What, now?" I said.

"If you wouldn't mind."

Clearly, he had more experience than I did when it came to these situations. I glanced at the other Pokemon for a bit, who waited with anticipation. I didn't know if I should've told them what I was doing there, but I figured I had little else to do, so I might as well have embraced the moment. So I started telling them about my upbringing, to which, Buizel splashed around excitedly in the pond, to the Bidoof's annoyance.

"Ooh, you lived on an island? Coooool!"

"Not really," I said, "It was kinda boring."

"How?" He cocked his head. "You had the sea all around you!"

I just shrugged and continued, getting to the point where I almost drowned and met Azzy.

"That was foolish, swimming to your doom," the Abra said, "Was it not?"

Before I had any sort of reaction, Basil held his paw up. "Now, now, let's keep it friendly, alright?"

Abra flicked a claw at him like the fopp he was. I have a lot of interesting stuff to say about him later, let's put it that way.

Anyway, I continued, up until the point Mom released me from the Pokeball Dad trapped me in and let me come here.

"Aw," Ponyta said, "Your Mom must've really cared for you."

"Well," I said, rubbing my head, "Yeah. Wouldn't yours?"

Ponyta shook her head. "I lost mine."

Those words hit me like a kick to the nads. Not that I have any, but still, what do you say to something like that? I know now that not all of us, if not most of us Pokemon didn't have the same lucky upbringing as I did, but back then, it was new to me. I wrung my paws together, trying to find something to say to reassure her. All that came out though was a simple "Oh." She didn't reply back.

"Smooth," Sneasel said. This time, Basil extended his large tongue and licked him across the face. "Ugh, gross!"

"Anyway," Basil said, "I'm sure you'll understand that everyone came here due to all sorts of circumstances. Don't feel bad because yours is different from theirs."

I just nodded. I didn't really feel like talking much after that, so I sat down and stared at my feet. My chest felt hollow. Back home, I could've teased the hell out of my brothers with ease, but here, I was pretty much at the mercy of everyone else. Some seemed to have it worse than others, like Sneasel, who had several scars across his body, so I didn't want to imagine what he could've done to me if I pissed him off, especially with those claws of his. My gaze wandered off to the rest of the room, where I saw another Pokemon sitting by itself, staring off into space away from the rest of the group. They were about as small as me, except they had a smoother body. Since Basil was so welcoming to me before, I figured I'd go up to the lonely Pokemon to give them a helping hand too. I gingerly padded over to them, making sure not to alert them, and stood behind their back.

"Hey," I said, "You alright?"

They slowly turned to me. I smiled, only for it to turn upside down when I actually saw his face. I might as well say it was a he since I knew him later. His eyes stared through me, looking so wide, I swore they were about to pop out. Something about his stare in particular could've turned you to stone, probably literally. It was like he had some sort of curse. I caught a glimpse of the various purple splotches around his face before he turned his head back to the scenery.

My heart raced. I took a few paces back, only to run back to the gang and hug Basil, as I had no one else to latch onto.

"Hey there," he said, "What's wrong?"

"Wha-what the heck's with that guy?"

"Oh." Basil frowned. "I would just leave him be for now. I can tell he's been through a lot."

"He creeps me out," Sneasel said, "There's some psycho _****_ going on, or something like that."

Basil leered at him at the mention of that word. I didn't know what it meant yet, but he said it in human. Ignoring that, I glanced at the creature again. "What is he, anyway?"

Well," Basil said, "He's known as a Cubone. His type usually wears the skulls of their mothers on their head."

"What?" I said, practically white with shock. "Wha-why would they do that, that's so messed up! If someone wore the skull of Mama like that, I'd be scared to death!"

"Well, it's not every mon's cup of tea, but they usually do it as a memento of those who've passed on." He turned his head to the maskless Cubone from far away. "Why he doesn't have it is a mystery to us."

"Let's leave it that way," Sneasel said, "He probably pushed that broad down a cliff or some _****_."

"Now, now," Basil said severely, "That's not a nice word to say. You want to set an example with the humans, don't you?"

"Shaddup," he said, picking at his ears with a claw, "You're not my da—"

Cubone rushed in out of the blue and tackled Sneasel, bashing him over the head with a mini Bone Club. Basil tried to push him away to no avail, while the rest, me included, stared on.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry!" Sneasel screamed. "I take it back! Just stop! Please!"

The Cubone stopped attacking, and he went back to his own spot as if nothing happened. Sneasel was left nursing a few bumps on his head, sulking on the floor. And I just stood there, not knowing what the hell to do. It was my first time seeing a proper fight off the island. Well, as proper as one sided blows to the head could be, but still.

"Are you alright?" Basil said, offering him a paw. Sneasel just backed away to a tree and stewed in his own self-pity.

We didn't say much and decided to drop the issue, so that gave me time to calm my nerves. I even swam in the pond alongside the two other Pokemon, which felt nice and shallow. Not as cold as the ocean was, if anything, it felt warm. Kind of like it was heated from underneath. Anyway, the next two to come were a Happiny and an Aipom, who Basil babysat as well, although they weren't as receptive to tell their stories as I was. They got on well besides that, and it didn't take long for them to settle in and play with each other. I just watched from the pond, still not feeling accustomed to Pokemon etiquette yet, if that was even a thing. Then lastly, a Shinx came along as well.

This is where you come into the picture, Shine. You know, it's kind of funny looking back at it now. I didn't know you as well as I do now, but my first impression of you wasn't that great to begin with. No offense.

 **(None taken.)**

Anyway, I saw you limping your way to Basil, and when he tried to introduce himself to you, you started sobbing and sat in a spot on your own far from everybody else. I don't blame you for how you acted back then, as I'll talk about that at some point later, but when I saw you, crying out of the blue, it kind of reminded me of Stumpy and how he would start wailing sometimes. Part of me felt annoyed, like I usually was around him whenever he had an outburst, but another part of me wanted to come towards you and hold you.

I was stuck between two boulders of thought and didn't know how to squeeze out, so I just sat and looked at you. You curled up into a ball and bathed in what seemed to be the sunlight. I swore I could've seen you glowing. Nevertheless, I watched until the other mediators came in, all sorts of evolved Pokemon, as well as Azzy, who gestured me to follow him. All of the Pokemon in the room flocked to their own mediators, even the solitary Pokemon like you, the Starly the Sneasel and that Cubone. Then they led us out of the room in single file, with Azzy taking my paw in his.

"Are we on tour now?" I asked.

"Yes, we'll walk you through most of the areas on this floor, and after we've had our meeting, we'll call it a day."

I followed the rest in a line as we were led through the various parts of the facility. Firstly, there were the classrooms, which we only got a small peek of since we wouldn't be needing to use them yet. I guess instead of the usual set up in human schools where you had desks and chairs to sit on, we had bean bags and cute little tables to sit around. It looked more like a place you'd sit all your stuffed toys for a tea party than somewhere you'd learn a bunch of useless trivia. Then there was the gym, filled with all sorts of equipment I didn't know the purpose of. The Machop in our group must've known what they were about since he was jumping for joy in that room. The library was off limits, which the Abra complained about, but nothing else came from that.

I might as well skim through the rest as it was a lot to take in at once. The Lounge Room, Infirmary, Kitchen and Bathroom was next. You can probably guess what their purposes were. Then there were the offices, which again, were off limits. That's probably gonna sound quite redundant soon. And finally, there was the meeting hall, opened with a set of double doors unlike the rest. You know something's important when it has two doors instead of one, for whatever reason.

We were led in one line to our seats on one side of the room while the other was occupied. There were these humans in white coats, who looked at us with wide eyed interest. I felt my heart beating again, as their eyes tracked us all the way to our seats. I tried to ignore them, staring at the front while we waited. Everybody else around me chatted amongst themselves. Once everybody settled in, Azzy sat beside me while the Shinx was in front, looking left to right. His mediator, an Manectric, nuzzled close to him, keeping him occupied. A part of me still wanted to reach out to him, but I decided against it. Everyone went silent as one member of staff spoke into the microphone, another mediator by his side.

"Everyone, may I have your attention please," he said, which I heard through the mediator's Pokemon tongue. "We'd like to thank you all for coming to this facility, man, woman and Pokemon alike, and we hope all of you will make the most of your time here. But I'll let the leader speak for himself, so may I present to you, our Director, Lawrence Cartwright, and Assistant Director, Lucy Labelle."

The two speakers stepped aside and held out a hand to the right of the stage. An old man propped himself up on his cane, walking slowly, but with determination in his gait. A Gardevoir floated closely behind him, strangely enough, wearing a frilled dress that flowed behind her. You know, for a Pokemon, she totally owned that look. I couldn't even imagine myself in a dress, let alone want to wear one.

The director's shoes clattered with each step he took on the hard floor, echoing throughout the room. Then, he stood up on top of the podium, his Gardevoir by his side, and a smile emerged from his wrinkled face.

"Humans and Pokemon alike," they spoke in their respective tongues, in perfect unison, "Welcome to our project, Gestalt Learning. We have brought you all here to take part in this experiment to contribute to a better society." The two of them held their hands up, as if shaping the whole world under their palms. "Imagine it. Human and Pokemon in league with one another. To perform the same tasks as one another. To change the world with one another. To create a better future with one another. We see so much potential with both of you, and sadly, we see that this potential is not being used." Their arms drooped, and they clasped their hands together.

"For far too long, the trainer system has trapped everyone in this rusting machine that only spins to create wealth for the rich at the expense of everyone else. Trainers go out into the expanding world at an early age only to pursue a hollow dream of gaining a fake Championship title left from the ashes of the Elite Four. Pokemon are bound to these trainers for no other reason other than sustenance and a purpose in life. It could be so much different. Pokemon and humans can truly learn to co-exist with one another, if enough time is spent on their education. That is why all of you are here."

They pointed at all of us in the room.

"All of you, humans and Pokemon are full of life and brimming with hope. You will all work with each other as equals, not as master and servant. For you humans, we will ensure you'll work closely with these Pokemon, and reward you dearly for your contributions to the future. You will be renowned all around in your respective fields of science. As for you Pokemon, we will accompany you every step of the way to make sure your talents are cultivated here. You will be able to achieve anything you set your mind to, and after your leave, you'll be able to put those skills into practice to travel the world, build a career, become famous, and anything else you will yourself to do. The choice is yours."

They put their arms down and joined hands. "For the next five years, we will do everything in our power to ensure your studies are fruitful. You will follow a program that caters to your needs, as well as help you to make the most of your time here. As we are Gestalt Learning, we believe every part plays a fundamental role to your education. For now, however, we shall pass on the torch to our Class Coordinators." They bowed. The humans on the other side were the first to clap, Although I didn't know what use it did, I clapped along anyway, as the Pokemon they were able to did so, while the rest howled in the air.

Really, they could've said anything and I could've believed it. If they said it was possible to shoot rockets out of our arses, we probably would've tried to do it. Even though I didn't understand what half those words meant at the time, since we all know you're smarter by default if you use big words in place of simpler ones, there was something about the way they said them as well as their tones of voice that sold me on it. After all, I made the choice to go there, and I didn't regret it. For the most part.

Lucy, the Gardevoir helped the director leave the stage while another human/Pokemon duo entered. They didn't say a lot that was too important to rattle off at the top of my head, but basically, they ran down how the 5 years would be divided up into several syllabuses: a mix of learning the same skills human children would be taught, including how to speak which was my main focus, and fighting, which would teach us how to defend ourselves as well as work with trainers if we chose to. Of course, there was the boring stuff like all the rules they went through. With each word uttered, my head bobbed up and down, struggling to keep my eyes open. They sure took their sweet time on pointless crap. Something squeezed my sides, jolting me awake.

"What the-"

The Aipom snickered from behind, who covered his mouth with his tail in an attempt to muffle his laughter.

"Hey," I whispered, "Keep your paws to yourself."

"Couldn't help it, sorry," he said, then narrowed his eyes. "Still, he doesn't shut up, does he?"

I shook my head. Although I didn't agree with his grabby nature, we found something else to share between us. He grinned and held out his paw-like tail to me.

"You seem cool. We can be friends, right?"

Other than Basil, he was the only Pokemon that gave me such a gesture that day, so I smiled back to him and offered a paw in return. He snatched it away.

"Psyche! Too slow!"

I just shrugged and turned back to the guy's lecture. Something told me I had to get used to his antics.

Thankfully, the guy shut his trap and we were told to gather up into three groups of six. We would stay each other for the rest of our course there. There were those who came from trainers or lived in domestic areas. There were those who were born in GeL. And then, there was us, the wild urchins. There was me, the Ponyta, the Cubone, the Buizel, and the Aipom. Except someone was missing. When we were sorted, I asked one of the mediators why there were only five of us, only to be told the other member wasn't ready yet. You'll find out about that later.

After that, Azzy picked me up and we exited the hall in one neat line, going back to the cafeteria to be greeted with many different bowls and plates of food. Sandwiches, berries, meat pellets, you name it. I drooled, as the rest probably did, and if you know anything about how Pokemon eat, provided you haven't been living beneath a bridge for all of your life, it was chaos in there. By the end of it, in the mess we made, we had eaten our fill, and were set to fall into a food coma not long after. After we were all done, we were led into the corridors again only to be broken off into our respective groups. Us wild Pokemon would be staying in the same garden we met everybody else in.

When we got there, the ceiling was black instead of blue, filled with twinkling stars and a rind of a moon. Our mediators wished us good night and each of us found a spot to sleep in. I myself gathered a pile of leaves and curled up into it. I slowly drifted away, sure to fall into slumber. Then I found myself on the island again, listening to one of Mom's stories with the rest. Trunks was there, listening intently. Stumpy was there, curling up against a tree. Twig was there, chewing on a twig. Figures. And Dad was probably somewhere hidden, listening in private. After her story was over, I went over to hug Mom, only to touch the air. I found myself in the garden again with a bunch of strangers. So that was how the first day ended.

 **The Growth Arc**


	19. First Fight or Flight

**(So, when you started your schedule, what were the first few lessons like? Did you find an early interest in learning human speech?)**

Well, how interesting do you think it is to listen to some blue rabbit repeating the alphabet several times over, then making you do the same thing? Not very. A lot of it was just going into the basic mechanics of pronunciation. How do you make that into a story? Wouldn't this bomb if this was a film?

 _ **(Yes, but what about the mechanics of Pokemon speech, and how do they relate to you learning about human speech? This would help us understand your difficulties.)**_

Oh, so you want to get technical, huh? Well, I can't really say I'm the best Mon for that sort of thing. Shine is a better teacher than me in that sense. But I can offer my input here, plus what I learned from them.

When you first speak, as a Pokemon, you don't really think about the sounds you're making. Our roars and cries may seem like gibberish to your untrained ears, no offence, but those same roars and cries have many different variations, and with that, many different words and meanings. My best bet is there are over 1,000 ways to roar as a Lucario, each having their own set of meanings. 'Reror' might mean something like 'hello', while 'rorora' might mean something like 'go away'. If we had more time, I would go through each 1,000 plus of those roars with you, one by one.

Just kidding. But seriously, if you were to go through every little sound change and figure out what they all meant, you'd sooner gouge your ears with an icepick. Then again, some people, let's call them linguists, get off to that sort of thing, so anything is possible. That's why it's so hard to try and explain it, because it ain't something you can fully pick apart, it's something you feel. Just like learning in your language. You start babbling as a baby and then you work your way up to sounding less drunk the older you get as you begin to understand what the adults around you are actually saying. It all comes with experience. The more complex the meaning of the sentence, the more words you start to string along. Unfortunately for us, our speech sounds garbled as each sound that conveys meaning is bunched up together, like atoms in a cell, or some other sciencey crap like that. That's not something you can translate to human so easily, if at all. Itwouldbelikeifitalkedlikethisallthetime. See what I mean?

But in any case, the first lessons in speech just covered the basic crap, like sounds and whatnot. All 17 of us were sat around a classroom, huddled close together, while the human students took notes at the back. I tried not to notice them too much, since whenever I turned towards them, they would look the other way, face buried in their notebook. Azzy, formally known as the Language Specialist, held a piece of chalk in front of a board. Whenever he wrote, it often squeaked, making my ears twitch.

For each sound Azzy broke down, he wrote its letter on the chalkboard, starting with 'a', or 'ae' as it sounds, and made us repeat it. When he wrote down the first letter, I raised my paw.

"What's that?"

"Oh," Azzy said, "This is the letter 'a', or 'ah', as we pronounce it here."

"What's a letter?" A few chuckles came around me. Most noticeably, Abra burst into laughter, bashing his fist against the floor.

Right now, this probably sounds really stupid, even coming from me. Another thing you have to understand though is that sounds are one thing, but symbols are another. There's this one guy with this name I can't pronounce, who had this picture of a Leppa berry with text at the beginning saying 'This is not a Leppa'. When you first look at it, you wonder what the heck the guy was smoking when he made it, but when you look at it closely, you realise that it's in fact, not a berry, it's a picture of a berry. Two completely different things, but easily confused for each other as the meaning is concrete. You can eat berries, after all. When you try to pair a sound with this abstract symbol, though, at first, you can't see the meaning in that symbol. As such, it just looks like a random squiggle. Not exactly something you can sink your teeth into and taste.

"You fool," Abra said, "You don't even have a clue on what a letter is!"

In response, Azzy threw his piece of chalk at Abra. It bounced off him with a great thwacking sound, which I cringed at. Even I felt it when Abra nursed at his head.

"That's one thing I won't have in this class. Remember everyone's experience levels are different. Just because it seems natural for you doesn't mean everybody thinks the same way, got it?"

Abra rubbed his yellow dome and sighed.

"Yes, sir."

"Right. That's actually a good question, young Riolu. Now..."

He explained what those letters and symbols were, going off on a tangent for a bit. I noticed Abra was levitating, while Aipom harassed the Buneary by pulling on her ears playfully. The others seemed to take a passive interest though, leaning closer to listen. When that was over, I just nodded, not wanting to show my ignorance as I still couldn't put two and two together. At least, not in front of that yellow bastard again.

 **(So, what other lessons did you have?)**

Oh, well, quite a few actually. We had our paws full with activities from that day forward, basically.

For starters, there were the gym sessions we had, which involved a set of physical exercises to do for a certain period of time, like working on running and endurance in one day, then stretches and aerobics the next. As you can imagine, it doesn't translate that well to the Pokemon who couldn't stand on their hind legs, so I got a kick out of seeing the Bidoof fall on his ass, amongst other things.

Those sessions were led by a Medicham called Reggie, who clearly looked too enthusiastic for what he was doing. Each time he told us to do a rep of push ups or whatever was the equivalent for the non-bipedal Pokemon, his voice echoed in the closed off gym space and he'd pump his fists in the air all the time. It wasn't my style, honestly, cause it seemed like he was performing something like a magic show for an audience who stared at their phones the entire time, but at least the Machop was into it.

He'd also cheer us on, saying we did a great job whenever we got through one of the reps, although he ignored some of the other Pokemon, like the Shinx who stayed tucked away in the corner of the room, without fail, for every session. Occasionally, Reggie interrupted his lesson to try and convince him to come along, but that didn't seem to work. Whenever that happened, the rest of the Pokemon would huddle around me and stare at the scene.

"What's he doing?" Sneasel said.

"Hmph," the skull-less Cubone huffed, the first syllable I heard from him so far, "How weak."

"Aw, c'mon," the Pachirisu said, standing up while he combed his tail, "He's been like this for like forever. He's just scared, that's all."

"Oh yeah?" Sneasel said, raising a claw to him, "What's there to be scared of in this place?"

"I dunno," Pachirisu said, his tail drooping, "But maybe he'll come 'round later and tell me."

After a while, the Medicham just gave up and ran back to us, preparing to give us another jazzercise session or whatever they called it. That's when Aipom waved his tail in the air.

"Whazzup?" Reggie said. If he fit the bill of anyone resembling a human, he probably would've been the beach bum that does a lot of illicit deals in his minivan. Don't ask me how I know that.

"Um, I like these lessons, teach," Aipom said, "But when are we gonna learn to fight? Wouldn't that be good for exercise?"

Honestly, I didn't question that until he brought it up, but from my position, I never needed to fight for my own life. Though I didn't know what everybody's pasts were, since he was part of our wild brat pack, I guessed he must've had a few scrapes in his life so far. Reggie just smiled.

"It's cool, dude. When everyone's fallen into one groove, then we can start fighting, you dig?"

Aipom jumped up and down, enthusiastic, but not trying to cause a scene. "B-But can't we just do one teensy fight? I feel like I wanna prove myself already!"

The Medicham stroked his pink head. "Well, it might not be on the schedule, but I don't see the big deal behind it. Who do you want to pick as a partner, though?"

"You, duh!" he said, pointing his tail at the confused teacher.

"Woah there, I like your zest, dude, but that's a little too spicy for me. Why not someone your own size?"

"Aw." I detected a drop of energy in his aura, but he turned around and grinned at us regardless, waving his tail from side to side as he decided who to pick in the circle.

"Ooh, ooh, ooh," Buizel said, "Pick me!"

"Yeah, in your dreams," Sneasel said, "Whaddya gonna do, bubble him to death?"

"I'm always open," Basil the Lickitung said, "It's not a big deal for me."

"Nah," Aipom said, "I know you're quite good already, plus that tongue kinda gives me bad vibes. How about I pick..."

He stopped and pointed his tail at myself, keeping it raised for a few seconds before dumb little me got the hint.

"Me? Why?"

"No reason. Well, I kinda heard you didn't do a lotta fighting on that island, so you're gonna be easy for me."

For whatever reason, I felt a tinge of anger build up inside me. "Um, okay?"

"Cool, it's settled!" Reggie said, and told everyone to clear out the way for us two to battle.

So, I kind of ended up getting in a fight by accident. I don't know how it happened, but it was the first time I ever fought another Pokemon. That means teach droned on, going on about the official match rules: one attack each turn, first one to faint loses, last one standing wins, yadda yadda yadda. In hindsight, I guess it was like a tutorial level in a role playing game, or something, like that series on the handheld thing. You know what I mean, don't you, Tony?

 **(Not really.)**

What, did you never play that game before?

 **(No, I played outside for most of my childhood. Now I mostly play in an office cubicle.)**

Okay then, sucks to be you, I guess. I only went through a phase of it myself when I stole some random guy's DS that one time. I don't really like it since my paws aren't used to that sort of thing, but it's like having your first encounter with some random Pokemon terrorising the professor in the tall grass, and having to teach your own Pokemon how to fight for the first time.

So the stage was set for us two. Aipom bounced on the balls of his feet while I stood still, not really sure how to initiate the fight.

"Go, Aipom!" Buizel said. "Go! Go!"

"Whatever," Sneasel said, "My money's on this minx."

"What's money?"

"Forget it."

He sprang forward first, paws splayed out preparing to scratch. I gasped and rolled to the side, dodging. He followed, however, and I bounced backwards, avoiding each swipe. I dodged and rolled, but he kept coming at me, unrelenting. My heart pounded. If I didn't make a move then, that probably would've been it. I sensed an opening below where his legs stood unprotected, and swiped down with a kick. It connected, knocking him flat on his tail-end. A mix of cheers followed. I breathed a sigh of relief when I heard that. It was like I was at the centre of the stage, and the rest of the spectating Pokemon were my fans. Yeah, sounds awfully conceited, I know.

"C'mon, idiot!" Sneasel said, "Kick 'im while he's down!"

"Not cool, dude!" Reggie said. "This fight must be fair, you dig? Wait for him to get up!"

"Shaddup!" he said, "What sense does that make? She'd be dead if this was a real battle, you _dumbass!_ "

"H-hey, don't talk to me like that!"

I watched as the two bickered, which went on long enough to distract me from the fight. When I tried to move my leg next, it wouldn't budge. The Aipom's tail wrapped around my paw, and swung upward. The world around me turned upside down. My arms desperately flailed in the air in an attempt to get ahold of my surroundings. I don't know how far I was off the ground, but I braced myself, preparing for the worst.

Call it divine intervention or whatever other crap, but when I hit the ground, I rolled forward and broke my fall. The closest thing I can think of that could've explained it were my instincts from falling off the treetops on the island a certain amount of times. I'd call it cat-like reflexes if I were close to being a cat-type, so I'll settle for Riolu-like reflexes for now.

More cheers followed. With each time that happened, I got more and more into a groove. I sprang back to my feet and focused on the Aipom, who looked confused, but nevertheless guarded for the next attack. Running forward, I tried to look for an opening wherever Aipom was unprotected. His tail acted as a shield for the rest of his body, with his paws raised in front of him for extra protection. The only thing that wasn't covered, however, was his face, so you can imagine I went to town on that. I made a fist with my paws, swiped forward, and bam. There it was. Fighting move against normal type.

My punch made a satisfying slapping sound which echoed in the air, before Aipom crashed backwards and rolled over a couple of times before stopping. More cheers. I pumped my fist in the air, having my little moment of triumph before I saw what happened to his face. Red all over, basically, like he got splattered with a Tomate. I immediately rushed to his side, shaking him gently, feeling a chill wash over me.

"Oh jeez!" I said, "Uh, Aipom guy, can you hear me. Hello? Hello!"

A paw tapped on my shoulder, belonging to Reggie, who looked down and gazed at the scene like he was looking at a piece of bread that popped out of the toaster. If that analogy makes sense.

"Well, I say you got him. Cool."

"Cool?" I said, shaking Aipom's body, "I just killed him, there's nothing cool about this! Please get help, help!"

The onlookers just laughed, to which, I stood up and pointed at all of them.

"You're all sick! You just watched me kill another Pokemon and you're all laughing! Don't just stand there, help me! Help!"

Yeah, I might've been a bit of a drama queen. Of course, Aipom was still breathing, so I overreacted again. It took me a few seconds before I saw his chest puff up and down, and laid close to him, looking for any sign I didn't hurt him too bad.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"Fine," he croaked, trying to push me away. "Just let me rest. Please."

I breathed a sigh of relief, and managed to calm down before I heard the other Pokemon talking amongst themselves.

"What's she thinking?" Sneasel said, "Was she dropped as an egg or something?"

"The fool," Abra said, "She clearly hasn't been in many fights."

"She did a good job," Ponyta said, "Isn't that enough?"

To my mercy, Reggie stepped in and stopped them, calling off the lesson early and letting everybody else leave aside from me, including Aipom who was lifted to safety, where I had to stay behind. The pink clown-looking guy knelt to my level and put his paws on my shoulders. In that gaze of his, I saw the same benevolent gaze Trunks used to give me whenever he gave one of his pep talks.

"Hey girl," he said, "I get it, you're not used to this."

"I don't understand," I said, nearly whispering, "Why did he make me fight him? Why does anyone have to fight anyone?"

"Why does anyone do anything? Just cuz, I guess. I get he wanted to prove himself though, so there's your reason."

"But his face! You must've seen how badly I messed that up. What's gonna happen to him? What if I get in trouble for it?"

"Us Pokemon heal quickly, you dig?"

"But why though? I know it happens a lot in the wild and stuff, but I heard a bit about trainers and how we're taught to fight for them. What's the point in that?"

The Medicham hummed to himself, looking for the right answer, when he shrugged and shot me a smirk.

"I dunno, I don't think about that stuff anymore. It's kinda pointless. Once you've fought enough times though, and learn more about the world, you can figure out that answer yourself. Until then, just be chilled. You have us watching your back to stop your from seriously hurting anyone, plus you've got restraint, so you're way ahead a lot of Pokemon already. You get me?"

I looked to the side at the splotch of blood on the floor. As much as it was painful dealing that sort of damage on another Pokemon, it could've easily been me as well, plus at that point, I trusted teach enough to take stock in his words. Finally, I nodded, and he gave me a pat on the back.

"Cool. I'd get back to that blue guy now."

I smiled once more before leaving the gym with Azzy. The day kind of veered off from there. I returned to our garden base and rested for a bit, gazing at what I thought was the sunlight. It definitely felt real anyway, as the rays gently shined on my face. Everyone else was there aside from Aipom, who I presumed was healing up somewhere else. It was like being back home. Almost. Then, something blocked my view, and I opened one eye to see the skull-less Cubone, which made me flinch.

"Hello," he said in a deep voice.

"Um, hi?" I said.

"I watched your fight." He stopped to bow towards me. "I admire your strength."

"Well, thanks?" I guess it was flattering to hear that, but it rang hollow for me, since it came across like he thanked me just for breathing.

"You can spar with me later. That way, you will know true strength. Goodbye."

He wandered off to his usual spot where he gazed at the wall, and I just returned to my nap, ignoring the foreboding aura that came off from him. A few hours must've passed since the sky turned a dark orange, and at last, Aipom came in, looking as soft as the day he came in. When he caught my gaze, he leered at me before jumping atop a tree to sulk. His aura radiated sadness and frustration, and it wasn't hard to see why. I beat him purely by chance, and getting the stuffing beat out of you by an inexperienced runt like me mustn't have been nice. A part of me knew approaching him at this point probably wouldn't end well, but again, Combee's nest.

I rose and dug my paws into the tree bark, climbing to the top not long after. Truth be told, it was a little anti-climatic, as I was used to the trees being so tall back home, but whatever. I perched onto a branch beside him and waited for him to notice me. A moment passed and nothing happened. You could've cut the tension in that room with a claw. When it became apparent he wasn't in the mood to talk, I made the first move.

"Um, hi again. I'm sorry about earlier."

He looked once with a sorrowful expression, like that of a kicked Lillipup, and turned back to the scenery.

"It was my first fight, I wasn't really expecting to win. It just sorta happened. That punch looked really painful, though, I didn't mean to go that far."

"Eh," he mumbled, "I've seen worse."

Knowing he was from the wild as well, I put two and two together.

"It must've been really rough out there, in the wild, I mean. It sounds so different from how I was brought up, you know. If you wanna talk to me about that, I'd be interested."

"No you wouldn't," he said. "You'd just think I'm weak, like everybody else does. You proved that today by winning."

"No I don't. And who's everybody else?"

"My parents, for starters." His voice dropped, although he spoke more clearly that time. Anger boomed from his aura. "I can't hold my own in a fight. For that, they thought about leaving me to die all the time until these guys came along, then they just offered me up to them. Didn't say goodbye. Doesn't that just scream weak to you?"

Knowing the rules of nature better now than I did back then, with how unpredictable, harsh and indifferent it can be, I could see why he'd think that. Still, when I heard him talk about himself that way, like the way Trunks did sometimes, I squeezed his paws with mine and leaned in close to the point my muzzle touched his face.

"Who cares?" I said. "I didn't come here knowin' everything, and that's why I left home, so I could learn somethin'. We've got all the time to get stronger, so what's the point of worrying?"

"That Cubone over there." He tilted his head towards the meditating brute, who was too far away to listen in on us. "He looks at me all the time like I just peed all over his berries."

"Ew. Again, who cares? I don't. Just focus on what you wanna do."

"I want to get stronger."

"Fine then. Do that, but, don't compare yourself to others, or me, you got it?"

He hummed to himself, and silence followed as he considered what to say for a moment. It wasn't the awkward silence like before, but a comfortable silence, like the fog cleared up between us. His aura definitely radiated more positive energy anyway. Finally, he turned to me and smiled, shaking my paws, like in the friendly sort of manner Basil drilled me on before.

"Yeah. I get that. I'll try not to think on it too much."

We held paws for a little while. And a while longer. Perhaps a little too long. I shook them gently, trying to get out of his grasp, when he grinned widely and shoved at my chest. I went flying off the tree and fell to the floor, tail first. He scurried down soon after and pointed his tail at me.

"Haha!" he chuckled. "Now we're even!"

In any other situation, I would've seen malice in it, but I laughed along with him, as I sensed that playful energy, and he helped me up. From there, we started talking about little details of our own pasts, from the sort of Pokemon he met that occasionally gave him solace from his parents, to the sort of pranks he'd play on his siblings, like luring them into a hole in the ground covered with leaves. He got something slung at him as payback; I needn't mention what. I laughed and cringed at the same time. I didn't talk much about myself; I just listened and commented along with him. When it came time to go for dinner in the cafeteria, we ate together. When we settled down for the night in that same room, we nuzzled close to each other, feeling each other's warmth and just enjoying our company. He was the first real friend I had there, and he was a cool guy all throughout.

Still, my ass was a bit sore from that fall, but you win some, you lose some.

The week pretty much flew by as we had our basic lessons for one portion of the day and exercise in the other. Time didn't really exist there, since even with the garden there, it was pretty much a vacuum in the rest of facility, and not having an actual concept of time at the, um, time, didn't help matters. Having Aipom there to talk to and sometimes cause mischief with made the days pass much quicker. It wasn't a far cry from the times when Stumpy and I used to explore the island together, although he had less of a tendency to cry and moan whenever things didn't go his way. So it was fairly busy for that period, and when we had our day off at the end of it, we were playing in the garden together when another mediator came in holding some sort of device. Without a word, they handed it over and told me to put it to my ear. I waited until I heard a familiar voice from the other side.

"Hello, miss Riolu!" It was Azzy.

"Oh, hi! Wait, what're you doing in there? What is this thing anyway? Did you get sucked in?"

"I'm still here. I'm just on a phone, which allows you to talk through long distances. I'm no Rotom, after all."

I paused, trying to figure out what he meant by that, but kept on topic. "Why not talk to me here?"

"Because I have a surprise for you." I heard distant voices from far off, and stood there, wandering what they were until somebody else took over.

"Can you hear me, dearie?"

"Mama!" I jumped for joy. "How are you getting this?"

"This Azumarill visited the island and is with us at the moment. We're enjoying his company so far. The other kids love him; they keep asking him to blow bubbles their way. But how are you anyway? How have your studies been?"

"Well, we've only started, mama, so nothing too special, but we've learned what letters are and stuff! We'll be learning how to speak soon!"

"That sounds great, dearie. They sound like they've got a lot in store for you already." I heard shouting from the other side, one in a whining tone and one in a much younger tone. "Oh, let me pass you onto your brothers."

"Hey, hey!" Stumpy was on the other side now. "How are things?"

"Good."

"I'm missin' you, you know. It ain't the same having this guy pushin' me on that swing."

"Hiiiiii!" Twig beamed from the other side.

"Hello, sis," Trunks said. "It's been a while, so it's nice to be with you again."

"Yeah, of course!"

"Have you done any more drawing lately?"

"Um, I dunno." All of that slipped my mind. During my time there so far, I didn't even think about holding a crayon again, since everything else went so fast, but when Trunks brought it up, I found a part of myself yearning to make a mess on the sketchpad again. I hadn't even mentioned it to anyone else yet.

"Well, I'm sure they've kept you busy so far with other things, but still, keep going at it. I don't want to see you drop it so soon."

"Sure thing, bro."

A beat. I half expected Dad, or rather, Liam to be on the other side as well, but no matter how long I listened, I couldn't feel his presence there.

"Where's, um, Dad?"

"Oh." Trunks' tone dropped severely. I could tell what he was thinking even through the disembodied voice. "I'll let Mom answer that."

He said something too far off for me to hear, then I heard Mom's voice again.

"Alright then," she said. "Things between me and Liam aren't great. We've been apart for quite some time now. We didn't want to see each other, so we split the island in half, so he has his side and my side. We agreed to share the lake, but we know when not to bother each other."

I remembered the times we had before I left, how Dad would always talk down to us, how he tore up my drawings, and how he basically dragged me by my ears. I didn't forgive him for that yet, but it didn't give me any pleasure to hear about Mom and Dad not being the same. A pang of guilt nestled in my gut.

"The kids are allowed to talk to them whenever they went, but of course, they hang out with me more. Whenever they get the chance to go, he barely talks at all. I worry about him sometimes, but it's for the best."

"That sounds really lonely. Mama, is it my fault?"

"What do you mean?

"That things turned out so bad between you?"

"Don't be silly, dearie. You had nothing to do with it. He's just a grumpy, bitter Mon, that's all."

Even though my bad experiences with him still lingered on, I longed to hear his voice, just so I could take another piece of my old home back with me.

"Can I talk to him?"

"Well, the Azumarill wanted to help, but he tried to approach Liam, he just threw a bit of his aura at him, so I guess he wants to be left alone for now."

"Oh."

"But never mind that. It's lovely hearing your voice again, dearie. I'd love to talk with you all day, but I guess you'll have your paws full again soon. I hope you've made friends, at least."

"Yeah, of course!" I said, looking to Aipom, who hung lazily off a nearby branch, "We're having a lot of fun already!"

"Great! Are there more Riolu there, or is it just you?"

"Just me."

"I see. Well then, it's been wonderful talking to you, dearie, but I think I'll hand you back to this Azumarill for now. We'll talk again soon enough. Everyone, say goodbye for your sister!"

They all cheered me off to say goodbye, and I did the same, until all sound on the other end cut off completely. The mediator took the phone back, and I was left by myself in the garden grinning like an idiot, at least, until Aipom came along, tilting his head.

"Do you talk to yourself a lot? Ain't that a sign of madness?"

"What?" I wondered what he meant, until it occurred to me he might not have known what a phone was. I mean, I certainly didn't until it happened. "I spoke to my family. They were so happy to talk to me."

I stared him down for a while as he looked quite glum, when I came up to him and held his paw. "I'm sorry. I know things weren't alright on your end."

He shook his head. "I won't hafta deal with them again. But whatever, if you're happy, then same goes for me. It's nice for you to have a family that cares, anyway."

And so, the week ended with me having a good night's sleep, and going off to dream about me and my family together again. Instead of simply longing for them through a distant past, they were happy memories where I felt closer than ever to them than before. I couldn't quite remember each of their faces, but their voices were enough for me to get the picture. I must've slept like a baby, at least until we had to wake up early again to face another day.


	20. Showtime, In More Ways Than One

**(So, when did you start properly learning to speak the human tongue?)**

Actually, we made a bit of progress on it not long after the first week ended. That was around the time we started to learn to fight as well, and learn other things such as how to tell the time and how to add numbers up together, although I kind of bombed at both of them at first. It's quite a lot to talk about at once though, so what do you wanna know?

 **(The speaking lessons, please.)**

Alright then, more of that. I mean, we basically touched on more of what I talked about before, like how human sounds are different in meaning to what we say in our own language. The week before with Azzy was just finding out what all the possible sounds were and how to connect them to letters. After a while, I learned how to connect the two together, but when Azzy started his next round of lessons, he started talking about words. He'd write them out on that cringe-inducing chalkboard again, would break down each of the sounds used in it, and tell us to repeat it.

I had a bit of trouble with that at first, since words felt like a mouthful compared to the single sounds I was used to doing, but take my word for it, I got better. I don't care to go through it in huge length since Shine could probably do that. I think I'd just bore myself to tears talking about it too much.

One thing that really helped though, believe it or not, was watching the actual Pokemon show, which they found a way to tie into our lessons. Aw, this takes me back. I know you never played the games, but did you watch the series, at least?

 **(When I was 7, I think. That was when it first started, with Ash in Kanto.)**

Yeah, now you're on my level. So, it's been a while since I've seen it, and now I remember it, it's nothing special. I wouldn't really go out of my way to watch it again. But parts of it are embedded into my brain from when I'd watch those episodes as a Riolu, sitting with Aipom and all that and becoming entranced by that big, black box, which I'd later learn was a TV. I mention this because it served as a way for us to get better at understanding humans, but I should probably set the scene a little.

So, it might've been in the third week or so. I didn't know since again, time didn't exist, but sometimes, Azzy would walk us over to a room with all sorts of electronic devices, or the AV room, and sit us all in comfy beanbags around the TV. A human would operate the remote and flick through several channels before tuning into Pokemon: Diamond and Pearl. Soon enough, I was hooked. I loved the bright colours and I loved the art, except they were moving pictures. When I think about it now, the time it must've taken to do that must've been insane.

I say moving pictures like I'm a caveman or something, but they're what they are. Not to get too nerdy, unlike one Pokemon I know sitting in this room right now, but that's basically what film or animation is, just a series of frames cobbled together, 24 times a second, with voices and music to bind it all into one package. And the music as well. I sat through the opening theme, and even though I couldn't understand it all that well as we weren't used to the human tongue, I found myself humming the tune, as did some of the other Pokemon watching it. Even Shinx paid attention and wasn't sulking in a corner like usual.

But yeah, I think we must've watched the first episode where Dawn, that girl trainer or something, tried to find her way to the professor's lab and ended up bumping into the wrong places. Again, we couldn't understand her fully yet, but we got the gist of what was happening, which was enough. Then Ash came on screen on a boat with the Pikachu, and I was waiting for that yellow sparkster to speak, but he never did. Instead, he repeated his name over and over again, and so, it sounded like complete gibberish. It felt really weird to me at the time, so I raised my hand up when it happened in an attempt to find out why, but the show kept going and wouldn't stop. I gave up after a while, plus the subjects behind me were starting to give weird looks, so I sat through the rest of the episode with my mouth zipped shut.

There were some battles along the way with other Pokemon, which got me excited, and as it ran, I found myself understanding more and more of what they said. Only certain words and phrases since not all of it was familiar, but the phrase we got familiar with was "I choose you!" since it repeated enough to get stuck in my head. But after the big fight, Ash, Pikachu and Dawn eventually banded together, plus that pervy guy as well, but anyway, the episode ended and the credits rolled, so they turned off the TV soon after. We all clapped and asked for more, but that was it for now, and so we were chaperoned back to our bases. I caught Azzy's attention before he left the garden again.

"Yes, miss Riolu. I saw you wanted to ask something during the show."

"Yeah. Pikachu's really weird. And the other Pokemon. They keep saying their names all the time and I can't understand it. Is it just me or something?"

He shook his head.

"It's something the series does. While the human characters are voiced by humans, for whatever reason, the Pokemon are voiced by humans too."

"But why? Wouldn't it be better to have Pokemon talking like Pokemon so we could all understand it?"

He patted his ears, and I noticed through his aura he was quite nervous. I take it he didn't want to answer that.

"Well, the show is aimed for humans for all ages, but you still understood what was going on, didn't you?"

I nodded. "I'm starting to understand humans better now."

"That's good then. Well, have a good day."

He just left, and it was me in that garden again, feeling more questions rise up than I had before. Mostly about why they didn't hire Pokemon to voice their own characters, but I never got the answer to that, but knowing more about the world now, I can guess. There aren't many Pokemon actors, and while you see them in a lot of films shot on camera, for a show like that which is all drawn, it's not needed at all. A lot of shows or movies aren't made for Pokemon in mind, just for humans who actually have time for art and can talk with their wallets, apparently. What money is there to be had in that industry with us dumb Pokemon in there?

 **(People did kick up a fuss about the Pokemon not voicing their own roles after enough time. Oh, sorry, can I intervene again?)**

As long as it's not about Lucario dying because of a tree again.

 **(Thanks. Trainers and their Pokemon actors formed a union and started pestering the team for requests, and eventually, they hired Pokemon actors to speak for the Origins and Generations specials, which I guess is a step in the right direction. It added a bit more depth to their character, but of course, the humans couldn't understand it, so it was lost on them with no subtitle options. Again, sorry for interrupting.)**

No, it's fine. See, this guy knows. Anyway, I'm getting off topic. I could literally talk about it for ages, but I think you get the idea. It was a slow learning process, where we alternated between learning more about how to speak like humans and listen to humans. In time, in a few weeks, we could understand entire sentences, and once we digested that information, we could understand what the humans around us were saying all along. Even though the show didn't fill that void for my own kind, thanks to it, I was able to understand humans fully. Speaking it is another matter, but I didn't have problems with that.

 **(You mentioned bombing other lessons. What did you learn?)**

Eh, just maths and basic stuff. Honestly, not all of it is very interesting. If you ever went through grade school, you'd know it's something along the lines of that, so there's not much to say. My biggest crime was not paying attention, so there's that. Before I forget though, after I saw that show, and seeing all the great art off of it, that sort of inspired me to pick up my set of crayons again and draw. So I got my belongings out from the locker and remembered all the characters I saw from it. Humans like Ash were a bit too complicated for me to draw, but Pokemon like Pikachu had simpler shapes, so I sat with my back rested by a tree trunk and ended up drawing that guy, starting with the head and drawing the rest of the body from there.

Again, it wasn't very good, as the first result literally looked like a lump of garbage with eyes, but that didn't stop me, as I drew him again and again, until I got a feel for how to draw him correctly. Since my paws weren't really used to making such tiny movements, the lines all looked wobbly, but at least it resembled something like a living thing. I didn't stop there though, and kept doodling, until I saw Aipom coming into view, poking his head in upside down.

"Whatcha doing?'

I gasped and clutched the sketchpad for protection. A part of my memory flashed back to the time Dad took my drawings away from me, and in response, I hid the paper behind my back.

"N-nothing."

"That's not nothing! I saw what you were drawing!"

"Oh," I said, shrinking up into a little ball, "It sucks, doesn't it?"

"Are you kidding?" he said, and leapt off the tree, "That's awesome! I could never do something like that!"

I sat up a bit, breathing a sigh of relief, and flipped back to the page I last drew on.

"Thanks. I wish I could draw better, though."

"Still looks awesome! I don't know why you'd hide it!"

"Well," I said, "Papa didn't like me drawing. He was kind of a jerk about it."

"I thought you said your family was alright."

"Papa is alright. He just had a lot to deal with. His trainer left him, so he's still kinda upset about that."

"Kind of like my Dad was." He joined me by the tree trunk and sat down, watching me guide the yellow marker to draw another piece de resistance, if you could call it that. "He'd never shut up about it, either, talking about how he won this battle or fought this big Pokemon, and I was always like, just cram it, old man."

"Wish I said that to my own old man."

"Yeah. Keep doing your thing, though. I like watching you."

So we just hung out together, with Aipom acting as my second pair of eyes while I drew more faces. He wouldn't say much, but I forgot my current troubles with the lessons at that time and felt at ease with him around. It was nice to have someone by your side who wouldn't judge you, although I yearned for someone to correct my mistakes and help improve my craft. At one point, that Cubone passed us by and glanced at our work, before scoffing under his breath.

"What a waste of time."

I stopped to regard him as he sat back down in his spot. Aipom must've noticed me since he looked at me with concern, and he leaned in closer to whisper into my ear.

"He's always judging me and everyone else. Forget about that guy."

Despite that, I kept on going, throwing all sense of time to the wind until the bells chimed again and had our daily meal together. On the way, I locked my sketchbook away again, still wanting it to be my secret, but at least I had someone else to share it with.

I got another call some time after, and honestly, there wasn't much to say. It was just the usual conversation we had last time, since they were still happy to hear me and Dad was still off somewhere else, but oh well. Then Trunks came into the picture:

"Hello, sis," he said, "Have you been keeping with your studies recently?"

I gulped. I didn't want to have to tell him I wasn't paying attention in class, so I thought of telling him otherwise. "Yeah, I've been learning a lot!"

"Such as?"

"Well, things like adding other things together, and stuff?"

"Really?" I could sense his scepticism already. "Two plus five equals what?"

"Wait, what?"

"Answer me, two plus five equals?"

My mind drew a blank. Trust me, this sounds really stupid now, but from my view, numbers were much more foreign to me than letters. I tried to come up with answers in my head, but no matter what, I couldn't put two and two together, or two and five in this case. When it became clear the answer wasn't going to pop up anytime soon, I gave up and sighed.

"Sorry bro," I said, lowering my voice, "I wanna learn about it, but I can't wrap my head around it. It's not like letters, you know."

He took a deep breath, making the receiver crackle a bit. "That's fine. There's still time to learn, plus things are a bit trickier with us than it is with humans. I'm really sorry if I come across as annoyed, still, I just want you to do well."

I knew he was a bit disappointed from his tone, but I gulped down my guilt and said: "I know. You still look out for me, bro, even when you're so far away, so thanks."

"You're welcome. Just keep attacking it and eventually you'll understand. Shall I pass you back to Mom?"

"Yeah!"

So that was that. I didn't want to disappoint him the next time, so after the call ended, I wanted to attend the classes with a new found focus. I would learn all I could and make his efforts pay off in a month.

 **(You mentioned you started battling around the same time you started learning basic literacy and numeracy skills. What did those entail?)**

Well, it was alright at first, at least when we were still learning. We were in the battle arena for the first time, separate from the gym, so when I entered, I stood by the door, mouth agape at the sheer size of it. How practical it all was, I couldn't say. But from surface to ceiling, it was spacious, and you could see an indented dome in the roof where the windows were, with light radiating through the glass and giving the room a heavenly ambience.

It did make me wonder where the hell we actually were, since the building must've stuck out like a sore thumb outside with something this huge, and for something apparently so secret. There were separate arenas in the room, set up like stages for each of us to practice in, and the layouts in some of them were different, not unlike the battle coliseums I'd see in that show. Far off, there was a long strip of glass with several people sitting behind them, watching us intently. I didn't think much of it at the time, so I just entered with everybody else when urged to and went along with it.

They didn't stress the technical stuff at first and let us duke it out in pairs. The guys that grew up in the cities or around humans more or less did their own thing, and it showed. We were taught to watch their battles at first, since they had more experience, so that gave us an idea of what to look out for. So me, the rest of our wild group and the others watched as pairs in the domestic group took turns battling one on one. There wasn't much to say about it, but in time, they sorted our groups into two rows, grouped into those from the wild and those born in GeL, and were told to pick our partner from the opposite side, though of course, one person was still missing from our group, so they got a Budew from the domestic group to stand in for us instead. Aipom frowned.

"Aw, I was hopin' to go with you again," he said.

"Can't be helped, I guess."

Pachirisu was my first choice as he was the only other Pokemon from the other group I kind of knew, and he seemed like a cool guy. He chatted with the moist-eyed Shinx, nuzzling close to him, and from what I can imagine, whispering reassuring compliments into his ear. Unfortunately, when he turned to us, he made the first move and went to Ponyta as a partner. I didn't really know what to do after that, so I thought I'd pick the luck of the draw. I watched everybody else pick their own partners. Aipom ended up going with Buneary, the girl he'd often tease in class, so that was off the table. By the end of it, there was only me and the blue guy left. I approached him, and before I could raise my paw up to say hi, he flinched and buried his head in his paws, whimpering. Again, that gave my a familiar vibe to my sulking brother. Part of me wanted to tell him to shut up, but another part of me wanted to hug him.

Since this wasn't going anywhere anytime soon, plus Reggie was giving me stern looks, I slowly went to embrace him. He stopped shaking underneath my paw, so that gave me reason to start petting him, and eventually, he bloomed from his shrivelled up ball of fur and looked at me, wide-eyed, tears streaming down his face. When my aura honed in on his feelings, they radiated, to my surprise, nothing. Just emptiness inside. It wasn't deeply sorrowful or afraid, or anything. All it gave off was the loneliest feeling I'd ever experienced so far. How to describe it? It was like he never had anyone in the world before to care for him up until that moment, and as it turned out, it wouldn't be too far off. I found myself lost in his bewildered gaze.

"Don't mean to rush you," Reggie said," But we'll be sparring soon, got me?"

I let go and gestured Shinx to join me in an open spot in the wide room. We stood a few paces apart, ready to start, but he sat down, looking his deflated self. I approached him again, trying to reassure him with more ear scritches.

"Are you alright?" I said, "Don't you wanna fight?"

No response. He looked at me sadly, and I sighed, trying my best to hide my frustration with a friendly smile.

"Look, I'm not really used to this that much either. My family didn't make me do that much fighting, unless you count playfights, but you know, you and me are kinda the same here. I dunno what you're going through exactly, but I feel outta place looking at all these Pokemon and their fiery attacks and fancy spells and whatnot. I kinda suck at channelling my aura to attack at the moment. But I socked that Aipom in the jaw, so that balances out, I guess."

Still no response. He looked less miserable, so I guessed that was a step in the right direction. I stepped back and knelt down to him, gently caressing his face.

"You don't have to say much, that's fine. To be honest, I'm getting a little sick of that Abra yammering on all the time, so I could take a break from that. But we're still supposed to spar, so we should get started soon. Can you do that for me?"

Shinx looked to the other Pokemon in the right side of the room duking it out. They were all doing their own thing while we were still fence-sitting. I shook him gently, not wanting to urge him too suddenly to join the fight.

"Well?"

Finally, he looked back and nodded. I dried his eyes and assumed a battle stance not too far away. He followed suit and stood on all fours. At last, Shinx looked like the fierce lion cub he was born to be. Still, my pity extended into the fight, and I pointed at him.

"You know, I haven't actually seen what you can do yet. You can make the first move."

Shinx took a deep breath and started charging up something, making the light dance around his head like a halo. I braced myself for what was to come. I mean, it didn't seem like he had much up his sleeve, so I was sure whatever he'd throw at me would be nothing more than a light flick on the head. Big mistake. Instead, he shot a jolt of electricity at my belly, sending me backward. I lay on the floor in a trance, jerking my body up and down like I was possessed. It stopped after a few seconds, but as I rose to my knees, the air around me felt a little different, somehow. I put a paw on my chest, catching my breath.

"W-wow," I said, "That'll teach me to underestimate you, huh?"

There were few laughs from behind me. Pachirisu and Aipom stopped their match while they pointed at something above. When I looked up, I saw nothing there, yet.

"Come on guys," I said, "What's so funny about this?"

They said nothing and just snickered like idiots. As a last resort, I felt around for anything that might've landed on my head, when in fact, it wasn't on my head, but came from my head instead. My fur stuck out in the air like a mane of puffed up hair. Looking back, I wish I could've seen that. I'd give away my hat collection just to see that ridiculous ball of fluff.

 **(You have a hat collection?)**

Yeah. Sometimes, I put it on just for fun, or when I want to surprise someone.

 **(Surprise someone? Like a disguise?)**

Whatever, we're getting off track. So after that initial shock, har har, we had a bit of a song and dance, which involved me playfully slapping him across the face, since punching didn't seem in good taste, and he'd shoot more bolts of electricity my way, which I'd try to dodge. Most attempts weren't successful, so I ended up flopping around like a Magikarp half the time, but at least it was harmless. The one time I managed to dodge must've been completely by accident. Either that or he missed and hit another poor sod in the background, but I dunno. But after a while, we were both tuckered out, so we sat out together to take a breather. All things considered, Shinx warmed up quickly to me, nuzzling close to me while I watched the rest battle. He was still as silent as death, but we didn't really need to speak. It was just nice to feel I was there for him after that much heartache on his end.

That moment of peace was all cut short when we heard screams on one of the stages. We saw from before Cubone had paired up with the Munchlax, but we paid little attention to them until that moment when Cubone started beating him over and over with Bone Rush. It wasn't the sort of friendly match we were told to follow, I mean, the guy really went at it. He pinned the Munchlax to the floor and just whacked him on the head, over and over, while he begged him to stop, all with this look in his eyes. Even though were we quite far away, they were vengeful and gave the same impression my Dad gave off sometimes, except more blank rather than angry. There were little splotches of blood on the floor around Munchlax's head. We hugged each other for comfort, feeling Shinx's static course through me.

Thankfully, Reggie stepped in before there could be any more carnage and separated the two by picking up Cubone by his tail. It didn't stop there since he flailed in his grasp, but couldn't get free.

"Hey, chill out, mon! This isn't the wild, you don't need to go that far!"

Cubone continued on, whose screeches echoed in the spacious room. Reggie closed his eyes and emitted a purple energy which pulsed through his paw. Eventually, Cubone stopped struggling altogether and gradually fell asleep. The Medicham lifted him up and cradled him in his arms, looking at him with a sorrowful expression until he attended to Munchlax, whose bloodied head had several nasty egg-sized bumps.

"Just lay there, mon. It's all chill now. You'll be healed up soon, yeah?"

Munchlax nodded before slumping to the floor, officially knocked out cold.

So, that went well. After that, Reggie called the lesson quits and me and Shinx went our separate ways for that day, returning to our own rooms. It was me and Aipom in the garden again, where we sat by the pond with Buizel in there and Ponyta resting by the bank to collect our thoughts. Of course, Cubone was absent.

"What the heck was that?" Aipom asked, "I thought there was something wrong with him, but not like that!"

"Yeah," Buizel said, "He was so scary!"

"Such a shame," Ponyta said, "I would have liked to see that happen."

We all shot her questioning looks.

"You wanted to see that?" Aipom said, "Why, did you want a fight to break out between them?"

"Oh, sorry," she said, frowning, "I meant, I wish I saw what was wrong between them before the fight."

"Ah, okay, that's slightly less creepy. I mean, I knew that guy was gonna tick at some point."

I hummed to myself, considering the fight again, and felt a chill wash over me when I realised something.

"He's gonna come back here, right?" I said, "What happens then?"

"I dunno," Aipom said, "We'll avoid him as usual, but this time, we'll make sure to stay out of trouble. And if decides to start a fight, we'll all look out for each other, won't we?"

A collective nod.

"If he comes anywhere near me," Buizel said, splashing the water with a punch, "I'll make him eat my bubbles!"

"No offense," Aipom said, "But I don't think those little pockets of air will help very much."

"Then I'll punch him in the face!"

"That's kinda better."

So that was the highlight of that day, if you could call a Munchlax getting the stuffing beaten out of him a highlight. A few days later, Cubone returned to his spot in the garden and just kept to himself. We all made sure to stay as far away from him as possible in that room, which I kind of regret now, but you'll find out why later. So anyway, weeks passed without much excitement, and were either spent with me sparring with Shinx, who still never uttered any words, or keeping my head raised to pay attention to the numerous classes on addition and subtraction when we weren't learning the human tongue. Then for the third time, I got the family call.

"Hello, dearie," Mom said. I heard shuddering and sniffling on the other end, as well as the sound of crackling, bringing both cold and warmth to the call.

"Hey, mama. Is, um, everything fine?"

"Oh, yeah, of course! It's gotten chilly all of a sudden. Your brothers are just huddled around the campfire. It is late autumn, so it is to be expected. We'll be fine."

We did spend one winter on the island before, and although that was cold, it hadn't snowed, so the food supply wasn't exactly short.

"Anyway," she said, "How have you been?"

"Well, things kinda went crazy. There's this Cubone in our group who isn't friendly at all, so we've been dealing with him, but other than that, things are kinda the same."

"Unfriendly in what way?"

"He almost killed a Munchlax not too long ago."

"Well then, that's not good, is it? I hope you're alright after that!"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm helping a Shinx with his battles. He always seems lonely in class and never talks, so I wanna be there for him whenever I can."

"Good to hear, dearie." I sensed her motherly smile through the receiver, if that makes sense. She passed me onto my younger brothers, who were always excited to say hello over the phone, even as Stumpy apparently had a cold, and then to Trunks.

"Hello sis," he said, "I hope you've kept up with your studies this time around."

"Well, yeah!" I said. "I ain't gonna fall asleep in class again after last time!"

"Sounds good. Then, what's four plus nine?"

"Thirteen!"

"Very good. Have you learned multiplication and division yet?"

"Eh, no. I don't think we've gotten that far. Sorry, bro."

"No, no, that's great. I wouldn't expect them to go to that yet, from what I know about the school system. I'm glad the last call influenced you in some way."

I smiled. It was really gratifying to hear I've improved, coming from his words. We talked idly some more, but then, we stopped as two people started shouting far away on the other end, voices I recognised as Mom and Dad. It was hard to make out what they were ranting about, but it was the first time in a while I heard his voice, which was slightly reassuring, however angry he sounded. Eventually, their argument devolved into simple yelling, and the sound bumped and crackled with a series of random noises, which I took as a sign it was being passed around. I could hear Dad's voice no longer.

"Dearie," Mom said, voice lowered, "Lia- I mean, Dad wants to talk to you. Is that alright?"

My heart stopped. After all that song and dance about keeping me away, he finally wanted to talk. Although a sense of dread nestled in my gut, I wanted to catch up with him, and hoped for the best he wouldn't confront me about leaving the island.

"Yeah. Please."

"Alright," she took another deep breath. "Well, I'll hand you back to Azzy for now. I'll probably speak to you soon, and as usual, I love you. Bye."

"I love you too." The phone went dead on the other end. I understood there would be another call soon after, so I sat and waited, breathing in and out, in and out.

I guess words can't easily describe the awkwardness of that situation. If I can compare it to a human situation right now, it would probably be like going out with a day trip with your separated dad to go for drinks, only for him to dump you at the corner of the bar while he was off talking to his group of friends at a far-off table, and whatnot. I think I saw that in a movie, but don't remember which one, but anyway. It's the sort of awkwardness that only comes from long silences and broken families. Waiting in that garden while everyone stayed silent as well only added to it, a presence I tried to ignore.

To my mercy and my surprise, the phone rang again and I held it to my ear once more.

"Um, hello," he said. His voice was hoarse; deeper than before.

"Hi." I waited for his turn, but there was a long pause in between then. It would've been the perfect moment for Cricketune to start chirping.

"How are things?"

"Uh, oh yeah, they're good."

Another pause. And then, aside from more deep breaths on the other end, long, drawn out silence. He'd never been good at talking, even on the island, so this wasn't unexpected, but having lived through the situation before it, it was getting nigh unbearable. That gave me time to really sit and digest what he did, and how he acted in general, and how emotionally constipated he was most of the time when he wasn't angry. If only aura could've reached through phone signals, that would've helped. Maybe there's an app for that now. But in any case, these thoughts, along with the growing silence was the perfect catalyst to brew up a storm within me. I clutched the phone and took a deep breath.

"Dad. You wanted to talk to me, so just spit it out. I'm sick of you shutting me out all the time. You always did, even when I was back home. You wouldn't listen, you'd rarely make sure we were ever okay, you almost never spent time with any of us, it was just Mama doing it all. Why? What did I do to deserve any of it, or bro, or anyone else? Just say something, please!"

Rage boiled inside me, to the point I had to restrain myself from pitching the phone across the room by pacing through the grass. They brought out emotions I never knew, and never would've expressed in front of Dad, but when he became a disembodied voice, that gave me the push to let everything out I'd crammed in up until that point. So I held my breath and waited, and waited until he sighed on the other end.

"I apologise, pup. I never should have treated you the way I did. Being alone has given me time to think, and looking back, there were many things I wish I could have done in a different way."

"Like what? Say it in front of me."

"Like, tearing up your drawings. I knew those were important to you. I just let my emotions get in the way. And for not listening to you. I should not have made you feel powerless to talk."

"And bro, as well. He'd talk about you a lot, you know, he wanted to be like you, and you treated him pretty much the same way."

"I know I did. I just wanted him to be strong, for all of you, like I never..." His voice trailed off. "Anyway, that's not the point."

"What is the point then, huh?"

"Point is, he, well." He lowered his voice, "I am paying the price for that. He doesn't look at me like I used to. Those eyes are always looking somewhere else whenever he comes with the rest to speak to me. That means I failed."

Another silence. I breathed in and out, calmer now I managed to squeeze that info out of him, but some things still felt unresolved between us. The fact I still left the island was the big Donphan in the room. And then another question arose from within.

"You know we have the power of aura and all?" I said. "You could've listened to what we were thinking, right? That's what happens when you grow up to be a Lucario, isn't it? Then why didn't you listen to us?"

Another sigh. "I shut them out. They were there, but I pushed them away. That's why I spent so long being so distant from all of you. I'm especially sorry for that. I could've been there for you."

I took another deep breath. That brought some more closure, at least.

"So," he said, sounding brighter, "How is it over there? Are you safe? Are you keeping strong?"

"Yeah, of course. They're looking after me a lot. I'm training my body all the time, so I'm always on the go, and I've made a few friends already. I hope that's what you wanted to hear."

"Yes it is. I'm glad you made the decision to go there. I still wouldn't have allowed it, but it's a bit too late to complain now. You seem in good hands."

"Thank you. Is that all?" To be honest, as nice as it was talking to him and airing out our dirty coats, I wanted to get off the phone as soon as possible, so I could sit and decide whether or not to forgive him. Not just for me, but for the rest of my family as well. I waited again for his reply.

"Really, I just wanted to say," he said, exhaling, "I love you."

Another uncomfortable break followed. Then, he started sobbing.

"I never got to say that while you were still here."

More weeps followed, and the phone went dead quiet. That final silence lasted for a long time, even after I handed the phone back. I sat there, carrying his confessions and his sudden emotional outburst with me all throughout the rest of the day, and into the night, where I dreamed of him pushing me up in the air on that tire swing.

That ended up being the last time I ever talked to him.


	21. How Shine Got His Groove

"Excuse me." Tony pressed the record button and looked between the two. Curio crossed her arms, while Shine stared longingly at her, with a certain heaviness in his heart. He remembered what she was talking about.

" _Um, why'd you stop? We're still rolling, aren't we?"_

"I'm terribly sorry. You just brought it up suddenly, so I felt like we needed to take a moment." Tony sighed. "If you don't mind me asking, what happened to your father?"

" _Hold on a sec."_ Curio leaned back in her seat and yawned, stretching her legs. _"_ _I'll get there soon enough. It's nothing that sinister, if that's what you're thinking."_

"Then why does Shine-"

" _It's fine, Tony."_ Shine shook his head and sat upright. _"_ _Let her get on with it. I see where this is going."_

"Alright, if you wish." Tony pressed the REC button again.

* * *

 **(Before that happened, Shine told me a little bit about how he got his name. He said it came from you, but he doesn't remember the exact details.)**

Oh, yeah. We had quite a bit of fun coming up with that.

 **(But this naming part interests me a lot, as you've only named the other subjects by their species, except for Basil. I remember you saying a while back that for most Pokemon, names have little importance, so the fact that the staff would make you name yourselves stands out to me. How did that come to be?)**

Huh. Yeah, I guess I could talk about that. At that point, we'd grown fully used to hearing human speech. There were still certain long words we couldn't understand, but since we'd mastered listening to them, it wasn't long before we started actually speaking it for real, which was the focus of the lessons for that period, for the most part. At the end of our class, Azzy presented us with this:

"Alright, students. I'm pleased to announce you'll have homework for the rest of this month!"

While I didn't fully understand the concept of homework, from the groaning reactions of those in the domestic group, it didn't seem to be very pleasant.

"Aw, really teach?" Sneasel said. "Are you gonna make us read a book or somethin'? Do you wanna bore us to death?"

"No, no," Azzy said, "Nothing like that. In fact, you can do this in your own time. I want you all to think of names for yourselves. You can ask a friend of yours to come up with suggestions, or do it completely on your own terms, just as long as it's something you're comfortable using for the rest of your time here. Take my name for example."

He spelled out his own name on the chalkboard and broke it down into each of the sounds used in that word.

"Azzy is a nickname my own partner, Mackenzie, used to call me. I like it because it's informal and easy-going, so it stuck with me, and now, it's my official name."

"Excuse me, professor," Abra said, "But I see little point in this exercise. Names are human constructs, so why should we stick with those conventions?"

"Good question. Yes, names are largely something humans came up with in their own language system. We take a lot of things we see at face value, rather than what it might mean. I remember the time when I was a little ball of blue energy, and..."

Yeah, you get the picture. He prattled on about his old self, and I almost let my snout hit the floor, until he finally got back to the point of the topic.

"But anyway, my name gives me a sense of belonging. It lets me know my life has meaning, and that I'm my own Pokemon rather than a faceless Azumarill among many others. It's around this time many of you are starting to develop your own interests, and so, naming yourselves will help you carve out your own paths from here. When you've decided on a name, please let me know and I'll write it down. It would be better to come up with a unique name, so choose wisely. Any questions?"

I looked to Basil, the Lickitung, who seemed settled on a name long before he came here, so I raised my paw.

"Yes, miss Riolu?"

"Yeah," I said, "Why is Basil the only one with a name – why not anybody else?"

"Hmm, another good question. In that case, Basil, would you like to tell everybody how your name came to be?"

"Sure thing," he said, and went to the front of the class. He took the chalk in his own paw and wrote his name down with ease.

"It's kind of a funny story, this one," he said with a wide grin that showed even through his large tongue. "Back when I was with my trainer, she was into cooking. Even when we rested at a campsite on one of our journeys, she'd haul out all her cooking equipment and ingredients and whatnot, and of course, it wasn't before long I got into it as well. She'd walk it through with me, so I trained my paws to hold all sorts of utensils and learnt all the cooking processes, from boiling to baking. At first, my food would come out really bland, yet her meals tasted wonderful, so I wondered how she did it.

Of course, I couldn't ask, which is partly why I came here to learn how to speak, but I could guess. Anyway, while I cooked some pasta, I dug into her bag of goodies while her back was turned and pulled out a bottle of basil leaves to spice things up a bit. While basil can be used for pasta, spices are only good in moderation. So, while it still boiled, I ended up emptying the whole bottle in there, thinking it would taste as good as her cooking. Not a good idea.

When me and her tried it together, we immediately spat it back out. She said I used enough basil to turn the whole thing green. That stuck with her, and since she hadn't decided on a name before, she started calling me Basil, and it stuck with me. So that's my story."

"Heh," Sneasel snickered, "So because you did something dumb, your trainer ended up calling you something dumb as well. _Shithead_ would've been a better name."

There were a few laughs behind us coming from the human students that watched. That was the first time we heard a swear. He said it in the human tongue as well, as it's untranslatable in our own language, and even though we didn't know how harsh it was, it sounded cutting, like he just ripped Basil a new hole just by saying that one word. Azzy frowned and walked up to snatch the chalk off of Basil's paw, probably to fire another one of his trusty chalk bullets, when he pulled it away. Even when faced off with someone like Sneasel, the Lickitung kept that friendly smile.

"Yeah, that was pretty stupid, looking back at it. I truly was a _shithead_ then, as you call it. Even if my trainer called me that instead of Basil, I still would've worn it honourably."

Sneasel crossed his arms, looking rather deflated. I don't think he got the reaction he wanted.

"Never mind the fact that titling Pokemon after obscenities is illegal under Sinnohan naming laws," Azzy said, "but congratulations, Sneasel. You've just earned an extra hour with me after class."

"Aww. Wait, so that means you can't name a Metapod _Pe-"_

"Two hours."

I mean, don't act like you'd never consider it if you had a Metapod. They can use harden, after all.

( **Um, I believe we're getting off track.)**

Alright, I'll shut up. So after that, I thought about everything I'd experienced so far, and started coming up with a list of names in my head. Dawn was the first choice, since I liked the character from that show, but I didn't really feel like Dawn, or a rising sun in an early morning. I thought back to my art, and thought about naming myself Crayon, then realised what a goddamned stupid name that was and went back to square one. So for a while, I brainstormed and got nowhere, even when I asked my group about what name they thought suited me.

"Beats me," Aipom said, "What about Rio? That sounds catchy."

"Nah," I said, "Kind of seems a bit easy. don't you think? It's like if I named Ponyta Pony."

"I don't mind being called Pony," she said, "If you want to call me that."

"Nah, trust me," Aipom said, "You're better off with something a bit less tacky."

"Ooh, ooh!" Buizel said, rising out of the water, "Whaddya think I should be?"

"Spitz, maybe?" Aipom said. "That's how you attack isn't it?"

"Aw, come on. That name sucks."

"Well I dunno, I'm tryin' my best here!"

"Hey," I said, "I'm sure we'll come up with them somehow. We've got time, right?"

That was something they could all agree on. So days must have passed until we got our first session where we interacted with the human students. They were older than a lot of trainers that started out, I'd guess, but still quite young, maybe approaching their 20s. Though I didn't know how involved they were at the time, they all studied something similar at many different universities.

The things they choose to study there are kinda funny, now I think about it. Pokemon Studies, as I'd later find out, is an actual course that you have to pay millions for, just like Film Studies or Politics or whatever other thing that probably pays very little. Then again, look at me. It ain't my place to judge what these humans do, I guess.

Anyway, our first session was held in a lounge room which had scratching posts and couches and chairs and whatnot, where everybody had a seat interacting with their chosen Pokemon. The goal was to find out more about each other and just chew the fat in general. We were taught to respond with yes or no questions, since we weren't quite at speaking level yet, so I just listened for the most part as I was buddied up with this punk-dude named Lexy with black hair that stuck up like a spike. Despite his edgy appearance, he looked nice, and that smile probably could've melted even a Glalie's heart. The fact his aura radiated a positive vibe in general meant I warmed up to him rather quickly. He introduced himself, and I repeated it, breaking it down into its basic sounds.

"Yeah, that's right!" he said. Lexy brought a hand to my face before pulling it away, looking shiftily from side to side. "Sorry, I probably should've asked first. I try to be mindful of everyone else's personal space. So, do you mind being petted?"

I remembered how nice it felt when the first human came to our island, so I nodded, and let him scratch my chin, panting as he worked his magic. Nowadays, I don't really let my guard down so easily with strangers. Kids, maybe. They almost always have that sense of positivity for Pokemon, but with most people, I have to know them well enough to let them get to that level. If you can take the hint, Tony, this means you're almost at that level, but not quite. No offense.

 **(That's fine.)**

But yeah, he went through a series of random topics; just the usual icebreaking stuff like whether or not I liked it there, or whether or not I felt smarter for being there. I shook my head to that second one, but he just gave me a reassuring tap on the chin.

"I'm sure your time will come soon. From what I've been told, they have a lot of great things planned for you."

I just hummed to myself, when I noticed the bag beside him and pawed out for it. His eyes dilated as he noticed what I was doing, and he clutched his belongings for safety.

"Woah there. You're nice and all, but I've got a lot of stuff there I need to keep safe, like all my notes and papers. Plus, it's not really polite to go through someone else's things."

That was kind of a blow for me. I wanted to look like I knew what I was doing in front of those humans, so to have one to show resistance like that sort of killed the mood. His reaction was really sudden and jarring as well, which made my heart skip a beat. He must've seen the sorry look on my face, since he frowned and rifled through his bag.

"Sorry, I know you're just curious, that's all. I'll try to find something you might like."

I know what you're thinking, and no, that's not where my name comes from. Not yet, anyway. So he looked through his bag for a while, which must've been bottomless, since it took a while, until he scrunched up his face at something inside of it.

"What the hell's this doing in there?"

He pulled it out to reveal some sort of contraption, which had many moving parts with gears at the bottom in a box-shaped container. He held it close to me and let me inspect it. That piece of junk was interesting to look at, as it had all sorts of pieces like pins, scraps of metal and porcelain doll parts cobbled together, and in all sorts of colours. What purpose it had though, I couldn't say. I looked at the bottom and saw it had a button, so I pressed it and it moved, which made my heart race, so I dropped it by accident. Luckily, it didn't smash, and just kept moving on its own, vibrating against the floor like some sort of motor went haywire in that mess of parts. Lexy knelt down to pick it up and narrowed his eyes at the strange machine.

"You know, I think I actually paid money for this. Must've been the worst purchase I made. I went looking in an antique shop for some old electric guitars, and found this thing, which I thought would look good on my desk while I worked, but never did anything with it. I don't even know what to call it. It's just some sort of curio, I suppose."

I also know what you're thinking there, and no, it's not quite that either. It didn't click immediately at first, but I liked the way it sounded, so I recited it several times in front of him. It just rolled off the tongue very easily.

"Yeah, that's right, it's a curio, or a doodad, or a thingamajig. Anything you'd like to call it. Honestly, I don't think I have any use for it." He tapped the top of the doll head. "If you want, you can have it. I know it ain't much, but maybe you could show it to your friends."

" _Than'-kyu!"_ I said, slowly. I dunno. K sounds in between words and phrases usually tripped me up, but it was still a learning process.

After the session was over, I took it back to the garden, turning the object over in my paws over and over again. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but there was something about the way it was constructed that entranced me, even though it was practically useless. Just the fact that someone can take these random objects and make something different from them. But I'd rather not waffle on about it too much. There's still the matter of how we came up with our names.

One day at the end of a particular week, we pretty much had the whole day to ourselves, so I lazed about in the garden, as usual, but couldn't drum up the energy to do much else. Everybody else slept behind a tree save for Cubone, who stared off into space as usual, and so, there wasn't much point in bothering any of them. Let sleeping mons lie, after all. But my paws itched to explore more of the facility, since I figured I'd only seen a fraction of how big it truly was, and so I paced around for a bit by the door, deciding what I wanted to do. I wanted to see Shine and show him this gifted curio.

The thing was, at least at the beginning, we were told not to mingle with the other subjects for whatever reason. I guess it made sense in the long run, as I'd find out later the purpose of it was to make sure each subject interacted with other Pokemon of their own background for a while before being allowed to socialise with them, which made it easier for the bigwigs to do research on. Of course, most of it flew over my head at the time, but the 'keep to your own pack' part I understood. But we were allowed to mingle with the other Pokemon anyway in class, for better or for worse, so I didn't see much point in enforcing that. I had a rough idea of where each of their rooms were, so I ventured through the corridors, doodad in hand, and tried my best to look natural in front of the wandering staff.

Oh yeah, the corridors. They weren't easy to navigate at all. They were pretty to look at as they were decorated with all sorts of patterns and decals, most likely painted to add colour to the grey background walls, but there were a lot of them with not enough landmarks to make each area distinct. After wandering around for what felt like forever, I stumbled across a corridor leading to a door that had paintings of skyscrapers and gym buildings adorning the walls, like the ones I'd see on that show. I checked both sides to make sure none of the staff had snooped behind me, and the two opposite hallways were both empty. With that, I padded gingerly to the domestic room.

Gingerly. Now that's a nice word if I've ever heard one. Shame you don't really hear that many people say it in a real conversation.

I nudged the door open and had to adjust my eyes to the many weird things inside that room. There were many contraptions and possessions inside it that I didn't know the purpose of at the time, but can remember clearly now. Little sandbags for the subjects to train with, a small TV with some sort of purple cube connected to it, a dusty bookshelf filled with old tomes, and other gizmos and gadgets aplenty. I wanted to find out what purpose they all had, so it didn't take me long to sneak into the room, only for Abra to teleport in front of me and stop me in my tracks.

"Oh, it is you," he said. "What in all blazes are you doing here?"

"Well, I-"

"Do not answer that." He raised his paw and pulled me back with an invisible force. "You are not allowed here, animal. Go back to urinating all over your trees and rocks."

"Wait a moment! I didn't wanna disturb you guys, I just wanted to-"

Before I could finish my sentence, he pushed me outside and slammed the door on my muzzle. My body could move itself again, and with that freedom, I found myself reluctantly walking out of the corridor, trying to keep myself from going back to kick the door down. That Abra had always made little slights whenever we were in class together, mostly to do with my lack of book smarts, but that time, he looked down at me as if I wasn't even a Pokemon, but like some bottom feeder. But he was a Pokemon too, so that just left me confused and enraged.

So, as if I haven't stressed this enough, Abra was a massive dick. At least at the beginning, but whatever.

Since I was so far away from my base already, I thought I might as well've gone the extra mile and visit the last group. Now, it was a weird case with them, as I'd soon find out. I went looking for a corridor with its walls painted like the other two bases, but with the similar looking hallways, it was hard to find one that stood out. The more I trekked through each passage, the more I noticed my presence, as I started getting weird looks from the mediators walking by. My pacing slowed, making sure to look as natural as natural can be, then, to my surprise and disappointment, I saw Azzy peeking out of one of the passages further down. Since I didn't want to give up the search just yet, I disappeared into the nearest corridor I could find, regardless of where I was actually headed.

The walls were painted with all sorts of coloured checkerboards, with a door at the end. It wasn't like the other two bases in design, so I really didn't know what to expect from this. But I advanced through there anyway, and when I opened the door, there was that same sort of gaudiness in the room. The floor was covered in cushions and stuffed toys, some of which the Pokemon, particularly Buneary, played with in one corner. The Munchlax was there too, with his chunky body lazing on a pile of cushions. And there was Shinx, lying down underneath the lamplight with a few books at his side, and a fluffy white tail poking out underneath the bed of pillows.

He looked so peaceful, so content in that moment, whilst every other time I saw him, he either cried or looked afraid in some other way. There was that glow of his as well, like a field around him that sparkled, as light shined directly above him from the lamp. It was like a halo, or something like that. I stood there, not bothering anyone until Buneary came up to me, clutching some sort of doll.

"Hi hi!" she said, ears twitching, "Are you a friend?"

"Yeah, I guess." She didn't seem to mind me being there, unlike that yellow asshat.

"Yay! Yay! Meet my other friend!" She presented the doll to me, which looked just like the spitting image of a Buneary, except it was white and wore all sorts of tiny clothes, all pastel coloured and the like. It wasn't really to my taste. "She's called Milly! I'm Milly! We're both Milly!"

I chuckled, really at a loss for what to say. "Well, good for you, I guess. For now, I'm, er, just Riolu."

"Just Riolu! Just Riolu! Love that name!"

"No, that's not what I-"

"Shall we play, Just Riolu?"

That took me off guard. I glanced over to where she was before, which had all sorts of dolls seated around a table looking thing. I wasn't exactly in the mood for a pretend tea party or whatever. In fact, I found the whole thing kinda creepy. Milly seemed like she was in her own world, far removed from the presence of others beside the room, but from what I read from her aura, she was perfectly harmless. Just an innocent Pokemon, protected from all the world's horrors, raised in a place perfect for those of her kind.

I just shrugged and went along with whatever she planned for me, so she squealed with glee and dragged me over to that table so she could introduce me to her other friends. There were inanimate objects, just like her own named doll, and yet they all had personalities of their own, each having their own favourite sort of sweets, their own favourite colour, and blah, blah, blah. It was all playing pretend, which I just accepted as I wanted to please her. It was fine back then, but now, I get a diabetic shock just thinking about it. Why does anybody, particularly girls, enjoy playing dress up with toys?

 **(Why do you enjoy making figurines?)**

Eh, point taken.

So an hour of menial cuteness passed, and thankfully, the Munchlax woke up and took over for me, as he enjoyed playing with the Buneary much more than I did. I eventually rose from my cushioned seat but not before saying goodbye to Milly. She was already occupied with Munchlax, stuck in her own bubble once more. By that time, Shinx had woken up, so I went up to him and scritched behind his ears again.

"So," I said, "This seems kinda nice. The Pokemon here look friendly, at least."

No response. No matter what I said, the aura of emptiness still emanated from him. Something about this base was off somehow, but I didn't think to press about it yet, so I changed the subject.

"They've asked us to come up with names. I haven't really decided on mine, but I have a few ideas. What about you?"

No response, still. I kept trying to break the ice.

"So nobody's come to help, yet, or are you still undecided?"

No response, yet again. I sighed, trying to hold back my growing impatience. He was a quiet guy, sure. That was fine. But at a certain point, after many weeks of hanging around with him and class, yet not knowing anything about him at all, I started to get desperate. He was one tough nut to crack.

You want to weigh in on the situation there, Shine? You've been quiet whenever I mentioned you.

 **(I'm good, thanks.)**

Alright, but remember, this is your story as much as it is mine. Well anyway, I was about to sit next to him when the Pachirisu woke up, emerged out of the cushions and scurried in front of him, knitting his imaginary eyebrows.

"Whaddya want with him?" he screeched. His sudden entry made me jump a little, but I kept my ground.

"I just wanna talk with him, that's all."

"Yeah, well, he doesn't talk, really. I haven't heard one peep from him since we both hatched. Listen, he's not like you and me. All he wants is to be left alone, and in your case, it's best to leave it that way."

"Now wait a sec!" I pointed at the tiny rodent. "That's not fair. I've been trying to help him all this time, and now, you're telling me to just walk away? Why don't you let him decide for himself?"

Now that set him off. Sparks started flying from his cheeks. "Because he can't think for himself! He needs someone that knows him well to get him through the day, and you're just getting in the way!"

"That's not true!" Shinx shouted, leaving us two in shock. "S-s-she's been a massive help to me!"

Pachirisu was especially wide-eyed. Surprise. Happiness. Guilt. All those emotions flooded through him. And with Shinx, sadness, yet determination; a far cry from the emptiness in his heart before. The electric rodent skittered over to him, dragging his tail on the ground.

"Sorry about that. I just don't know what your deal is, since you're so hush-hush."

Shinx sighed and glanced at the wall to his left. "S-s-sorry. I don't know how to express myself with words." He looked back to me with that same quiet anxiety. "You can s-s-sit with me. It's not much. I'm s-sorry."

I took a deep breath and joined him and Pachirisu on the cushioned floor. It felt nice and plush with a different texture to the soft grass, though it was still man-made. Shinx took an interest in the object I held in my paw. "Yeah, it's a bit weird, isn't it? This human gave it to me, since he mentioned something about not needing it anymore. I dunno what it does, but I kinda like the look of it. He said it was a curio, or somethin'."

He cocked his head at that phrase. I laid the object on the floor and glanced at his stack of books by his side, the top of which had a flashy cover with a robed Pokemon, similar looking to the Gardevoir, featured in the centre.

"Whatcha readin'?"

"Oh, nothing much. It's kind of s-s-silly."

"Silly?" Pachirisu intervened. "That's awesome. You've got a Gallade taking down an evil empire and stuff, how is that silly?!"

"Don't know. It's n-n-nerdy. That's what the others say."

"Never mind the others," Curio said, patting his head, "You can read, that's great! I don't really get it, but Mama used to read to me and I loved it!"

Shinx frowned. That might've struck a nerve, or something. I pulled my paw away from him, trying to gauge his aura. There was that same sense of emptiness again.

"It must be nice, to have a family," he said in a low tone. "I wonder what that's like. I heard you get calls from them, is that right?"

"Yeah." I crossed my arms, thinking back to the last conversation I had. "Sometimes, it's hard. There's a lot of baggage, y'know. But I love them all the same. I feel so lucky, being able to talk to them from so far away." I sighed, putting two and two together, and tried to think of the right way to approach Shinx's dilemma. "Sorry. Did something happen to them?"

Shinx didn't answer, but Pachirisu poked his head between us and stroked the other's head.

"We were born here, y'know. The guys asked for eggs from the great outdoors and raised us here."

"Oh." I tried to wrap my head around the concept, until I came to a realization and sympathetically leaned into both of them. The static didn't bother me. "So, none of you have parents?"

"It ain't that. As far as we know, they're doin' fine. Either out in the wild or at breedin' centres, apparently. That's what we were told. We got fair treatment here, so it's fine, I guess. No skin off my nose."

"Then why does Shinx feel so empty? I get this, you know, aching from inside him and it's been bothering me all this time!" My heart started aching as well. I couldn't fathom not having parents or having anyone of your blood to imprint on at birth.

"I dunno. My tutor fills the gap just fine. He's the same type as us, a Manectric. He's pretty cool, I guess."

"B-b-but, he's-" Shinx broke away from us and started tearing up again. "He doesn't treat me the s-same way as you! He respects you! I'm just, just weak!"

There it was again; that same self hatred I saw in Aipom. That emptiness was replaced with a potent sadness once more. I got to my knees and bashed my fists on the floor. "Enough! I've had it with everyone callin' themselves weak! I don't care about that; you're just fine as you are!"

Shinx sniffled and retreated to the corner. That sadness still didn't subside.

"I d-don't get it, w-w-why do you care about me s-so much? I can't hold my own in battle, I can't get along with others like everyone else can, it's just, just..."

Before he could say any more, I crawled over and cuddled him.

"C'mon, don't be silly. Everyone came here from different places; that's what Basil said. You know him?"

"Y-yes. He seems nice."

"Well, listen to what he says. Don't beat yourself up for it, just do you, you know?"

"O-okay." I pulled away from him, and he wiped his face. "S-s-sorry."

"Now stop saying that," I said, frowning, "Nothin' to be sorry about."

"Sorry."

I laughed and flicked his head playfully. "Aw c'mon, now you're diggin' yourself a deeper hole, Shine."

"Shine?" He cocked his head. "I-I'm a Shinx."

I paused. I didn't mean to say that; it just sort of came out. Then I remembered Azzy's homework. "You still lookin' for a name?"

He nodded.

"Well, why not choose Shine? I saw you shinin' earlier. And, and-" I rubbed my head excitedly. "And that means 'do well' as well, that's what teach said! So how about it?"

His mouth made an O shape. He turned around, repeating the word to himself over and over, before he looked back and smiled, for the first time ever.

"Yes. I'd love that. And how about you? Aren't you decided, yet?"

I shrugged. To my surprise, he jolted out of his place and sorted through the stack of books until he found one marked 'DICTIONARY'. He flicked through the pages until he put a paw on one word in the 'C' category: 'curio.'

"It's supposed to mean a rare, unusual, and intriguing object, like what you brought as well, and is rooted from the word curiosity as well, which means a strong desire to learn something." He eyed me up and down and smiled wide, revealing a cute set of fangs. "That really suits you!"

I recited it as well, thinking back to the session with Lexy, and then it finally clicked with me. I'd call myself Curio from then on. I howled that name in the room, and Shine joined in as well, until we fell on our backs, laughing. We got a few weird looks from the others that watched, but we didn't care. We were just happy to name ourselves at last.

To this day, even after all I went through to get here, I still wear that name like a badge of honour. Throughout my life, it ended up gaining more meaning as I went through each day and survived each hardship, from describing the sort of stuff I'd go on to create to the many questions of the world I wanted answers to, I never lost my sense of curiosity. Most Pokemon like me would be too jaded to care anymore, but I held onto that feeling of wanderlust and never let go.

I hope you do as well, Shine. Thanks a lot for naming me. It might seem silly now, but seriously, props to you, mon, it meant a lot to me.

 **(You're welcome. And I'm glad you made me remember how I earned my name. Thank you.)**

Of course, someone had to do a Rain Dance on our parade. Azzy let himself into the room, probably startled by the commotion, and gave me a stern look. When I realised he was probably looking all over for me, I stood up and went to leave. Before I went through the door, I saw Shine maintained that goofy smile, and I was pleased to have finally turned that frown upside down. Pachirisu waved back at us.

"I owe you one, mon," he said, "Thanks for cheering this sourpuss up."

"Wait!" Shine exclaimed. "I'm not a s-sourpuss!"

At last, I made my way down the hallway with that blue rabbit.

"Am I in trouble?" I said.

"Well, normally you would be, but I'll let it slide for now. Don't go sticking your snout into the other bases from now on, alright?"

"Yeah, but I don't understand. Why aren't we allowed to go there when we talk to them anyway in our lessons?"

"I shouldn't say, but it won't be forever. At some point, you'll be able to talk with them freely, but for now, just stay in your own base."

I opened my mouth to say something else, but couldn't find the right words for it, so I gave up. Again, they wanted pure data from the groups in the first year or so, and although I didn't know that part, I reckoned they probably were doing it for something important, so I didn't press further.

"That Shinx named me, you know. I'm settling on Curio. How do you think that sounds?"

He smiled. "I couldn't think of anything better suited for a mon of your kind."

So there you have Shine's origin story, now. Not that he didn't already tell you bits and pieces, I imagine, but still, that's something I like to think back on every now and then.

 **(I see. So, do you feel like talking about your father now?)**

Well, it ties into the rest of my family as well, so I sort of hoped I wouldn't get into that, but oh well. We're already this far, plus I kind of left you with cold feet with that before, so I guess I owe it now to tell you. But let me set the scene.

So I continued my lessons with a new-found energy after being named. Me and Shine hung out a lot more in class, and we'd often participate together whenever we were assigned to a task. We weren't allowed to go to each other's base, but I heard stories from him about how the Pachirisu took an interest in Milly's doll clothes, and how the Bidoof would often start fights with the Munchlax over which cushion they decided to keep. I think the Starly took interest in Shine's books as well, which I was pleased with.

So a month passed since the last conversation, and I waited for the call in the garden, picking out blades of grass as I waited. It just felt right, after so much that happened, since I'd be able to tell my family I named myself as well as the fact I made a new friend. But the usual mediator that brought the cell phone never came. At that point, I started to feel pent up, but kept waiting. There was still time. By the point it reached dinner though, my anticipation curdled into anxiety. That couldn't have been normal.

As the bell outside chimed and the others started lining up to exit the garden, someone swooped in. It was Lucy, the Gardevoir, floating into the area with a pained look on her face. The frills in her dress swayed behind her as she rushed over to me. Her aura was that of dread and fear. My blood turned to ice. This couldn't have been good news.

"Curio," Lucy said, "I apologize, but please, come with me quickly. I need to tell you something important."


	22. Pieces of Home

So there I sat in Lucy's office. It was a pretty nice place, all things considered, with plush furniture, walls decorated with cute Pokemon paintings, and a clothing rail specifically for her long line of pastel-coloured dresses. It even smelled of roses for whatever reason. I would've appreciated it more if my mind wasn't racing with all sorts of ideas. It must've had something to do with my family. But what happened? Was everything alright? What if…

I slapped myself across the face. I didn't want to acknowledge that yet. Lucy was in the corner, tending to something while the kettle boiled. My heart pounded with dread, until she came around with two mugs of cocoa.

"Here," she said, handing it over. "I know it isn't much, but I'm sure you'll like it."

"Um, thanks," I said, looking at my own reflection in the brown beverage. "But, um, why?"

"It's better this way." She sat back down. "It'll help calm your nerves."

I gulped. She couldn't have had good news in store for me, but one sniff of that cocoa made me forget, at least for the moment, and I sipped it. It was warm and rich, like the one I had on the boat. My heart steadied, although there was still that lingering whiff of uneasiness in the air.

"Is it nice?"

I nodded.

"Good," she smiled, taking a sip. "Well, perhaps it's as good as store brand powder gets, but never mind."

I took another sip. She frowned.

"I apologise for all of this. I know it's awfully abrupt, but we have some news for you about your family."

Another sip. There was a moment of silence, and then, she continued.

"Azzy and his partner went to visit them as usual this month. It takes about a day to get there, since it's quite far away, but they usually get there without much trouble. When they went out there though, they said a storm froze everything over."

Yet another sip. At that point, I could see where it was going. My family said it was getting colder, so that didn't really do much to help my anxiety. Still, I kept listening.

"They couldn't get there on boat, and so, settled for taking a flying-type to the island. They arrived, but when they got there, the island was frozen over too. Your family wasn't there."

I dropped the mug, spilling its contents all over the table.

"W-what?"

"Yes, unfortunately. Azzy called me this afternoon to say."

It felt like my chest would burst. I didn't want to say it, but at the same time, I couldn't delay that thought any longer.

"A-are they, are they dead?"

"No." Lucy sighed. "Bless your fluffy little tail, no. Azzy found a box on the island with a note handwritten by your mother. He said it was hard to read, but apparently, they had left the island before the storm with a Gyrados. They left the box just for you to keep. He's coming back here as soon as possible to get it back to you."

I let out what would've been a sigh of relief if the news had actually been relieving at all. I mean, what do you say to that? Oh yeah, this bad thing might not've been as terrible as you thought it would be, but it still feels like a punch to the solar plexus. I tried to process what Lucy said, but I just couldn't.

I leapt out of the chair of my own accord, and headed for the door, or at least tried. My legs wobbled all the way, and my head swam. I needed some fresh air as soon as possible.

"Curio," Lucy called, hovering over to me. "Please." She extended her arms towards me. "I know it's a lot to take in. I'm so sorry to be the one to break the news to you. But if it will ease your pain, you can come here for a cuddle. Or some more cocoa. Anything until Azzy gets back."

I stayed stock still. It probably would've been what I needed, sure, but I couldn't accept her offer. Not yet.

"I want to be alone."

She brought her hands back, touching the tip of her chest. "I understand. But please. Make sure you eat. It is dinnertime, after all."

My stomach was rumbling, so she had a point there. I nodded and opened the door to those hallways. After that rosy stink, the lukewarm air of the rest of the facility was comforting, as well as the hot aromas coming in from the cafeteria. I tried to walk, but ended up hugging the wall instead. Thankfully, Lucy saw me struggling, and lowered herself to my level to support me as I walked. That was sort of nice, although I couldn't really thank her since my mind was still a mess.

Once we reached the dinner hall, she sat me down on my base's table, sandwiched between Aipom, who was now known as Hans, and Buizel, who was now known as Floatsam. I was too zonked out to notice what she asked them, but when she left, Hans got out of his seat and came back to give me my dinner tray. He put his paw on my shoulder.

"You alright?" he said.

I just nodded in reply.

"You sure? Cuz you look like you've seen a ghost. You know, they say if you sneak in the halls after curfew…"

He kept talking, but I didn't pay attention, and focused on the plate. It was topped with all sorts of delicious foods. I slowly took mouthful after mouthful, although my stomach got fuller with each bite. Even though the plate wasn't exactly loaded, it still felt like a mountain of food I had to climb up on. Try as I might to finish it, I couldn't even make it halfway through. I just stared off into space after the tenth or so bite.

"Aren't you gonna eat that?" Hans said. "Because if not, then I'll have it."

I shook my head, letting him grab the tray.

"Ooh, ooh!" Floatsam said, pawing at the dish. "Dibs on the Magikarp!"

Thankfully, the two made sure the food didn't go to waste. Yet I continued to sit and stare at absolutely nothing. I wanted to get up and leave, or just do anything else to get my mind flowing again, but I was stuck. For a while, that stillness stayed, until something rushed past my legs, jolting me awake. Shine popped out from underneath the table. At that point, the other two were staring at him.

"U-um," he said, shrivelling up in the presence of the two. "U-um, I'm, uh, S-S-Shine from the G-GeL base."

"Yeah, we know," Hans said, not batting an eye.

"Oh. S-s-orry to bother you. B-but…" He gulped down his fear before continuing to speak. "Curio. What's wrong?"

I glanced to the side. "N-nothing." I know that seemed cold, but bear with me, I was doing everything in my power to push those negative thoughts away.

"B-but, I saw you from over there. You s-seemed so unhappy."

"No, I'm fine."

"That's not true." His tone was a lot more serious that time. "Something happened, didn't it?"

That got my attention. We exchanged glances, and then, SNAP. The air in the room felt a lot heavier than before. I leapt out of the seat, paws shaking with anger.

"You're wrong!" I shouted. "Everything's normal!"

"But, but please, Curio! Tell me what's going on!"

"Nothing! Just leave me alone!"

At that point, almost everyone stared at us, clearly startled by that sudden outburst. I took one last look at Shine, who whimpered and sniffled, before I stormed off all the way back to the base. It was somewhat calming at first, with all its greens and its blues, but something was off. The sun still shone. The trees still bloomed. Yet it was winter outside.

It doesn't take a genius to figure out that room was all fake. How they had the money to do that, I will never know, but that's not the point. When I saw that and thought back to what Lucy said, then, SNAP again. I screamed, scrambled for the nearest rock I could find and tossed it at the sky in a wide arc. Crack. Part of the sky fizzled, then turned black. A huge blanket of grey covered a nearby patch of grass. All it took was one broken panel for the illusion to completely fall apart.

I punched the ground next, pounding a hole into the topsoil. Then I punched at the trees. I punched anywhere I could, just to get it out of my system. I needed that rush, that little something to make me feel alive, but no matter what I did, I couldn't quell that feeling inside me. After enough time, I collapsed to the floor, panting heavily. My paws twitched, stinging from the hits I doled out. It wasn't enough. It felt like my soul was trying to claw its way out of my body.

Then another thought popped into my head: I needed to draw.

Once I regained my strength, I drew out the sketching kit from the locker and took it back. It was still deathly quiet at the base. I sat by the tree and stared at the blank page, crayon in paw. I knew I needed to draw something, but what exactly, I didn't know. All this power at my paws, and yet I couldn't do jack with it. I'd only filled out half the sketchbook since I got there. Wouldn't bro have wanted me to do as much as I could with it?

That was it. A flash flood of memories washed in from the island. Those got the creative juices flowing. I started drawing a picture of myself on the island, with the trees and the sea all around me. I looked happy, or at least, as happy as you could make a deformed Riolu with two dots and a line for a face. Then I drew my family, side by side together. Even Dad. I drew him playing with the whole family as well, and pushing us on the tire swing, and many other things as well.

In my drawings, I could pretty much do whatever the hell I wanted. If I could've created a world where Dad wasn't so emotionally constipated, I would've. I drew me and Trunks training together. I drew myself comforting Stumpy after a fall. I drew myself listening to one of Mom's stories. These were all on separate pages, by the way.

Again, these drawings weren't very good, but I was putting them out as fast as my memories rushed back in. It was just nice to draw my own worlds, smudge the crayons on the page and try a whole bunch of different textures I hadn't achieved before.

Then, I reached the last page. It only seemed fitting to draw the entire island on its side, as if you were looking at it from the view of a boat. The blues and greens were all encompassing. I did as much as I could on that page, making sure to fill all of it out before I stopped. When I finished it, I closed the sketchbook and clutched it in my arms. I'd finished Mom's sketchbook at last. But that was one of the only pieces I had left of the island aside from the crayons. No photos of them. No chance to say goodbye. Nothing. It all hit me at once.

I burst into tears. Like Stumpy, I wailed in the air, not caring about who would've listened, if anyone was in the base.

It finally sunk in that my family was gone. They weren't dead or anything, and thank his white ass they weren't, otherwise I don't think I would've coped at all. It still felt like death in a way, since I'd probably never see them again. They were the reason I came to GeL, for better or for worse, and they drove me to learn more than most Pokemon would, and grow into a smart, strong Lucario. And they were gone. What would be the point after that?

I didn't even notice that Shine came in until he bunched up close to me. I didn't even know it was him; I just cried into his coat, tears, snot and all. Tiny shocks pricked at my face, but I didn't care. Having someone to comfort me was enough.

"Curio," Shine said, "I'm sorry."

I pulled away from him, catching a glimpse of his sullen face. I tried to talk, but all that came out was basically babble. Someone else's tail wrapped around my back.

"Yo, Curio," Hans said, "It's alright. You got us."

I sniffled, and rubbed my face clean. Another set of paws wrapped around my body. Of all Pokemon, it was the Cubone, or M, as he called himself. The way he looked at me was something I never saw in him before. His eyes radiated a deep, longing sadness. Why exactly: I had no clue at the time. It was clear, though, he must've gone through some of that familial pain himself. Finally, I pulled all of them in for a hug, forming whatever words I could.

"Thank... you..."

By that time, everyone had come into the base: not just the domestic and GeLborn subjects, but some of the mediators as well. Lucy was back as well, and watched from far away, waiting for the appropriate time to speak.

Shine, Hans and M pulled away, giving me some space to gather myself. Once I dried my eyes and sorted out that inner muddle, I sat up. It was there that Lucy hovered to the centre of the base, and outstretched her leafy green arms.

"Everyone," she said, "As I explained, Curio is going through a major hardship in her life. If you have anything you want to say to comfort her, choose your words carefully, and make sure it comes from the right place. I won't keep you here if you don't have anything to add, but please, it would be a massive help to her, at least until Azzy comes back from the island. I'll be here to

mediate the situation in case anything gets out of hand. Now, decide what you want to do."

A few of the other mediators and subjects left, including that Abra, who had named himself Abraxas. It was for the best. If I saw his face for any longer, I probably would've flipped. The rest stayed, and the Ponyta, who had named herself Fernes, was the first to come forward.

"I'm sorry," she said, tilting her head. "I can imagine your pain."

"But," I said, standing up, "Didn't you say you lost your Mama?"

"Well, yes. I got separated. That means I lost them. That doesn't mean they died."

I opened my mouth to speak, but made no comment. Hans took the words out of my mouth and cackled, rolling on his back. Lucy was about to interrupt, staring daggers at him, when he pulled himself together and honked Fernes' snout.

"Oh mon," he said, "That woulda been nice to know before! We didn't say nothin' all this time cause we thought you'd-"

"Yes, I'm sorry!" she snapped. "Sometimes, I don't say what I mean."

"You can say that again."

"Let me catch a break for once, honestly." She looked back to me and bowed. "But I know how it feels to be separated from the ones you love. It feels like there's a hole in your heart. Do you feel the same way?"

I touched the tip of my chest and nodded. Well, it ached because of all the time I spent crying, but same difference. I saw Fernes in a new light after that, then thought back to whenever I saw her focused during class. She would always pay attention and read with a lot of patience, while I'd usually get bored within five minutes and do something else. Making my family proud was one motivating thought, but they were gone. Then how would I manage?

"Ferny," I said, then covered my mouth. "Sorry. Mind if I call you Ferny?"

She nodded.

"Yeah, so, all this time, you had the feelin' your family was still alive, but never had to see them again. Yet you came here and you own each lesson. How'd you do it?"

She hummed to herself, then snorted as smoke came out her nose. "I just knew I had a future here. It was either that or starve on my own, so you have my tutor to thank for that. Wherever they are, I'd like to think they're proud of me. They don't have to be there for me to think that way."

"That's..." I sniffled again. "That's awesome."

Basil came forward next, and gently licked my face. While it was still kinda gross, I laughed, so he knew what he was doing.

"If you're ever feeling homesick, come to me. There's plenty there you'd like. And just pretend Abraxas isn't in the room."

I smiled and nodded.

"Seriously, screw that guy." The Sneasel, who had named himself PZ, flashed his sharp teeth. "But yeah, give the GameCube a shot whenever you're around. I can't wait to thrash your ass at Melee."

I didn't know what he meant by that, but I took it on the chin. Shine and the Pachirisu, who had called himself Patches, bunched up closer and hugged me. It made my fur stick on its end, but it was worth it.

"Please," Shine said, "If you ever want to talk, I'm here for you."

"Don't forget me!" Patches said.

"And us!" Hans and Floatsam said together. They were right. I had friends there in GeL already. If they were willing to show that much support, then it would help fill the void left behind by my family's departure. Not completely, but it would make it a bit less painful. I smiled through my tears and pulled all of them in for a hug.

"Y-you guys. Thanks a bunch..."

The rest sort of dispersed from there. and everyone went back to their own bases, except for Shine. The rest huddled around me as I showed them some of the drawings I did, just to pass the time. They all seemed interested. Even M, who called it a waste of time before. He changed his tune pretty quickly, it seemed. Lucy still watched from afar. That was, until Azzy rushed in with a box in his paws. He laid it at the centre, which left me confused until he embraced me and started crying. Now that was a first.

"Curio!" he said. "I-I'm so sorry! If I'd- If I had- Oh, dammit, it's all my fault! If I'd come sooner, I'd, I'd-"

"That's enough." Lucy pulled him away from me, grabbing him by his shoulders. "It was out of your control, Azzy, now please, collect yourself."

"But, but, we could've-"

"I said, enough. We'll talk about this later. Tell her what you found, then go back to the staff room. Then, we'll discuss what needs to be done. Is that clear?"

His tears formed a puddle at his feet. Now damn, water types certainly could cry. He gathered himself after enough time, and turned around, bowing as if nothing happened.

"Ms. Riolu," he said, "Right there is a box with your family's possessions inside them. They wanted to give this to you before they left, so everything that was theirs is now yours. Do what you want with it. If you'll excuse me."

Lucy nodded, and she led him out of the room. I sat still for a moment. I didn't exactly know how to take that. At least then, I had more pieces of home to keep with me at GeL. But what, exactly? From what I remembered of that paw-patterned box, it just had lots of trinkets and shinies in it.

The others stared curiously at the box, until I did the honour of lifting the lid. To my surprise, there was more in it than I remembered.

The first things that caught my eye, of course, were two books. The first, I immediately recognised from the black cover, and the writing, now legible to me, named Sinnohan Myths and Fables. The other was much more scrappy looking with bits of paper sticking out of them.

I opened that one first, which revealed lots of different photos of Mom and Trunks together embedded into the sheets, which finally gave me a glimpse of their travels together. They stood in front of tall buildings, they posed with different humans who were delighted to take pictures with them, as well as shots of all the different dishes they tried. Now, it's kind of funny to think of how they posed for some of those shots, either by rushing into the frame or asking a human to take it for them, somehow, but whatever.

One final picture caught me eye in particular, which was of a forest with the view of the city in the horizon, where Mom, Trunks, and even Dad were there, smiling together. He actually seemed happy in that photo, for once, which was something I rarely saw. That was how I liked to imagine him, without all the shouting and dirty laundry he left piled up and unaired.

The other new thing in the box was a picture frame of the family together on the island, even Liam, smiling as well, with a note on the back which signed 'AZZY'. I guess he must've had it waiting for me as a present.

Finally, there was this black box with buttons on it, or otherwise, a cassette player, and a pair of earphones attached, with another note that said 'LISTEN', with the play symbol drawn on it. I wanna say something about how hard it is to listen to something through headphones with ears like mine, but I shouldn't get too distracted. This is important after all. I pressed play, and I heard the voice of Mama coming through those tiny speakers.

"Hello, Riolu dearie," Mom said. I heard the shuffling of several things at the back. "I don't know how to express this, but if you're listening to this, it means we've headed out of the island. I'm so, terribly sorry about this. I know it's sudden. Really sudden. If there was a better option, I would've waited it out until Azzy came back here, but it's getting desperately cold over here, so we'd rather not take any chances.

"I know you met Cecrops back when you were still here, but he warns us that the ocean's going to be frozen over, so we're going with him before he and his school of Magikarp migrate to warmer waters. We'll probably be heading for Canalave City, but we'll most likely be travelling further, so if you ever get out of there, I can't guarantee we'll be in any place you're looking for. We definitely won't be back at the island ever again. But at least I can say, if you're worried about our safety, you can put those thoughts to rest. We're a hardy bunch; we'll find our way somehow.

"I can't imagine how you must be feeling without us. I expect it'll be very tough where you are, and with our departure, it'll be even tougher. But you're not alone. You'll probably have friends there as well to help you. But no matter what happens, you must stay strong and get on with your studies. If you get this message and take my words to heart, that's enough to make me proud for the rest of my days. In the box, I've given you our photo album, and a book containing a lot of different stories. Even though I wasn't the best at reading, it helped me come up with my own tales, so if you ever want to make your own one day to tell around the campfire, or with your friends, learn to read those. Oh, I can hear your younger brothers whinging again, so I should probably pass you over to them."

She shuffled the recorder around until it landed in the paws of Stumpy, who sobbed into the microphone.

"I-I-I'll miss you so much, sis! I thought it was hard without you here before, but, but!"

He was full on wailing, as well as Twig. Even in that situation, I had to laugh. Sounds odd, I know. But I guess it was a comfort to hear they hadn't changed. The recorder shuffled again.

"Hello, sis." It was Trunks. His tone was flat, but he kept his composure. "I'm sorry about this. I would've loved to hear how you were doing back there. But I'll know you'll make the best out of your time there. I have no doubt in my mind Azzy will lead you to the path you want to take. If it's of any comfort, I'm glad to leave the island at last. I know the human world wasn't made for us in mind, but I'll try my best to do what I can over there." Suddenly, he let out a hearty laugh, which was rare for him. "I guess I can say you inspired me in a way."

He gasped, and I recognised the gruff breathing in the background. "Dad. Do you want to use the recorder as well?"

Liam grunted, and the recorder shuffled once more.

"Hello, cub. Oh, sorry. It doesn't feel right calling you that anymore. You've grown a lot since I last saw you at the island. Your older brother and the rest as well. You've really had an impact on them." He aimed it at Stumpy and Twigs, who were still blubbering. "Although they might still have a few things to learn. But you must know that right now, I couldn't be happier for you. And your mother as well. If you were worried about us before, you'll be pleased to know we're getting on well with one another. No matter what happens, we'll stick with each other through thick and thin. I'll try to be stronger and a better Mon for you and our family."

From there, he passed it onto Mom, who wished me hugs and kisses, as did the rest of my family before they returned the recorder back to the box. After the tape stopped, I sniffled, but smiled, turning to Shine for comfort. I squeezed him tightly, and he stood still, being the sponge for my emotional outpour. I cried again, but this time, the heaviness in my heart had been lifted.

I knew I wasn't going to get over it immediately, but at least I'd be safe in the knowledge that my family from the outside, and my friends in the facility watched over me.


	23. Missing Home

**(Well, I'm sorry to hear that happened, but I'm glad you were able to pull through in the end. To be honest, I was a bit anxious about how that would turn out, although I think I heard hints of it from Shine, if I recall.)**

How much?

 **(I might've told him bits and pieces, but still only vague memories.)**

Okay.

 **(So, what happened after that?)**

Well, that was pretty much the highlight of the first year, to be honest. There's not really much to say. I took my studies a lot more seriously, and just got along with everyone else in my clique, so there wasn't much drama aside from that yellow guy.

Okay, it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows. As much as I kind of overreacted at first to the news before, the fact my family moved away still stung; sometimes, coming in the form of nightmares. I'd sort of make up stories about them dying out there and their ghosts revisiting me, or think about them settling in a new fancy place and saying how glad they were to abandon me while I watched from outside their windows. Whenever that happened, I'd wake up in the middle of the night and stare up at the fake sky until it was morning, which sometimes screwed up my studies for the rest of the day.

As well as that, sometimes, the homesickness got to me as well. Not too long after I got the news, on one day off, I guess I got a bit sentimental and started sifting through the photo-book again. I'd already done that a few times before, but no matter how many times I looked at the same photos of my family smiling together, it wasn't enough to bring them close to me.

That hollow feeling grew in my stomach again. I thought I was about to burst again, then remembered Basil's words from before. So I decided to venture out of the wild base and creep my way into the domestic base with all its gadgets and such. Everyone was there, even Abraxas, who stared at me when I entered, holding a book in one claw. I could tell he was about to make yet another snide comment about my size or my brains, but before he could, Basil stepped in and took my paw, leading me to an area with cushions where we sat on opposite sides.

"You alright?" he asked.

I nodded slowly, although by the look of his face and his aura, it seemed he knew what I was going through.

"Missing home again?"

"Yeah. I know I shouldn't dwell on it, but it still kind of stinks."

"There, there." He patted my shoulder. Suddenly, though, a set of paws glomped over me.

"Awww!" a femme voice said, "You poor thing, you! There, there, I'm gonna make it all better!"

I nudged whoever it was out of the way, and there, I saw the Chansey, or rather, Pecha. We never really talked in class before, so I didn't know what to expect from her, but she kept on fawning over me as if I was some wounded Eevee. She reached out to my cheeks and started pulling on it.

"Um, stop, please?" I said.

"But you're so cute! I wanna put you in my pouch and take you home with me!"

"Now, now, Pecha," Basil said, pulling her away. "There is such a thing as personal space. If you want to tug on another Mon's face, do it to someone who's a bit more willing."

"Okay!" She started pulling on Basil's face instead, kneading it as if it was a wad of bubblegum. Basil glanced over to me as Pecha worked her magic. "Sorry, she gets a little touchy sometimes."

"It's fine," I said with a smile. Even if she did come off a bit too strong, it made me smile anyway, so my mood improved a bit. Once Pecha was done and returned to the corner where she played with a Roselia, Basil's face lit up.

"Oh, I know just the thing!" he said. After waddling to one corner, he came back with a box of colourful, round thingies. "Go ahead, try one!"

I pawed a pink one for a bit, feeling weirded out by the spongy texture, until I took a bite for myself. Of course, it was delish.

"Thith if nithe!" I said mid-bite, then remembered my manners and swallowed. "Sorry, they kept saying I shouldn't talk with my mouth full."

"I won't judge," he said, grinning, "But I'm glad you like it anyway."

"Yeah, so what is it?"

"Oh, they're Pokepuffs my trainer sent me, although you could easily call them _macaroons._ _Macarons?_ Hey, Abraxas!"

I cringed when he called that name out. Nevertheless, it got the yellow devil's attention.

"What's the difference between _macaroons_ and _macarons_?"

"Hmph," he scoffed as he flipped through the dictionary. " _Macaroons_ are delectable almond biscuits, while _macarons_ are sumptuous meringue confectioneries. I thought you'd know the difference, seeing how you're not some wildling."

"Alright, alright." He growled at him before turning back to me. " _Macarons_ it is, then. The human language is weird."

"You're telling me." I shrugged off Abraxas' comment and continued. "But anyway, your trainer sent these? So you're still with her?"

"Why, yes, I get calls from her every month." He frowned. "Sorry, I didn't mean to bring it up like that, since, you know."

"No worries," I said, "So what's she like?"

"Well…" His face brightened up, if you could imagine a shade of pink brighter than pink itself. "She's very supportive, and always knows what to say whenever we speak over the phone. We still got along when we were together, but now I actually have time to learn to speak her language, we've gotten so much closer. I can't wait to meet her again once I've finished my studies here."

"So, if you already had a trainer, why'd you come here?"

"To learn, of course. I don't just want to help my trainer cook, I want to become a chef as well as master the human tongue. As much as I love my trainer, she has to battle to stay afloat, and that takes time. The rest of my team is fine with that, but with me, I'd like to explore my own passions, which doesn't really mesh well with the trainer lifestyle, not unless you have a lot saved up."

I cocked my head. "I don't get it, sorry. Why'd you need to save up?"

"Alright, I understand. Money is a bit hard to wrap even my head around. But, um..." He looked from left to right, before he spotted something in one of his corners. "Why don't I show you an example?"

Basil went to one part of the room to gather a photo of his, which he showed of himself and his trainer, posing for some sort of prize as they held up a ribbon. That trainer kind of reminded me of the girl I saw on the island as she radiated that same friendly look.

"Here," Basil said, "We won first place for best presentation at a Pokemon contest, which they held in all the cities we visited. We put all our food on display, which I helped make, and that scored well with the judges, so we ended up coming home with the big prize. She was so happy after all the work we put into it together."

He put the frame down and rubbed his paws nervously. "That took a lot of prep, though. We had to save up a lot of earnings beforehand from battling other trainers to enter the competition and make all that food. Even after we won the prize of a hundred thousand Pokedollars, that money doesn't last forever. It goes quickly on more food, medicine, camping equipment, battle equipment, transport, entry fees…"

Basil kept going on and on. I chomped on what was left of the puff as a distraction. I imagine I went cross-eyed at all the new concepts he flung my way, as I still didn't have a good grasp on what it meant to be a trainer's Pokemon, but I got the point anyway. In dumb man's terms, training is expensive business. Thankfully, he stopped after enough time.

"But anyway, one of the staff members here came by chance and we discussed it together. She knew I wanted more out of this, so when they mentioned cooking, she was ecstatic. After going through all the paperwork, they took me in."

I hummed. It was still a lot to take in, but I got a better idea of what the Lickitung was doing there.

"You sound like you've got your whole life planned, you know." I smiled sadly. "I dunno what the heck I'm doing. Before, doing what bro said was fine, but now, it's just, eh."

"Don't say that. You draw, don't you?"

I nodded.

"Well, when you think about it, cooking is a form of art in a way. You take inspiration from the world around you, craft it with your paws and turn it into something viewable or edible. That feeling when you can just bring something to life like that is magical to me, more than just psychic powers."

"I heard that!" Abraxas interrupted. Basil just blew a large-tongued razzberry at him. Served him right. What took me off guard though was how the Lickitung leaned in and grabbed my shoulders, gently, but firmly.

"We're very lucky here. Most Pokemon wouldn't feel the same way about creating the sort of stuff we do. It's a tough world out there, after all. But once you have that drive and stick with it all the way through until the bitter end, it'll give your life so much more meaning than you might realise. Got that?"

That took me off guard. I don't know whether he read my mind or not at the time, and no, Lickitung can't as far as I know, but what he said sounded like the sort of advice Trunks used to give me, which I saw a lot of truth in. Hearing that finally inspired to get back to drawing again after a long period of silence, and took my mind off the lurking feeling of dread following my family's departure. Not completely, mind you, but it gave me less time to sit and ponder the what ifs and could've beens. Is beens even a word?

 **(Not really.)**

Then, out of nowhere, something icy pricked my back. I yelped and jumped out of my cushion. Someone snickered nearby.

"Gotcha," PZ said. "That's yer initiation into our lil' club!"

"What club?" Basil asked. "The scare-friendly-mon-away-with-your-ice-powers club?"

"Nope!" He grinned. "I haven't come up with a name, but it's somethin'. Anyway, c'mere." He put his claw on my shoulder. "I got somethin' to show ya."

Before I could say anything, he pulled me away from Basil, and sat me in front of that TV while he fiddled around that purple cube.

"Um," I said, "What's this about?"

"Here." He shoved a case in my paws, and on the front was a flashy cover filled with all sorts of colourful characters, including Pokemon. "It's that Melee game I was talkin' about on that GameCube."

"Game?" I cocked my head. Yeah, believe it or not, I hadn't come across a game's console before, or known what it was. "Don't you usually play that outside?"

"Yeah, well, you'll get it soon." He sat down beside me and handed me a weird looking device of some sort, or a controller. Come to think of it, GameCube controllers are really weird when you compare it to everything else. I got you were supposed to press buttons, like the remote control for the TV Azzy used, but still, it didn't feel natural in my paws. It clearly wasn't designed for someone without five human fingers, but if that was the case, then how the hell did a Sneasel manage it just fine with two claws? I guessed it was something I had to get used to, just like drawing.

PZ clicked his teeth and went through the various menus before pointing at the screen. "Use that stick thingy and choose a character."

There were quite a few to choose from, though I didn't know what the hell any of them were aside from the actual Pokemon to choose from. There was this green dino guy that kept repeating his name like everyone else, but he clearly wasn't a Pokemon. Out of the ones to choose from, there was Pikachu, Pichu and Jigglypuff, which all seemed familiar, but then, there was Mewtwo. It sounded and looked vaguely like Mew, which I heard about in the series, but as far as I knew, Mewtwo was nowhere in the real Pokedex, as that was something our teacher went through. I just picked Pikachu. Yeah, I know, obvious choice, sue me. It's not as if I'm the one to talk, being a Lucario, though I think they only introduced my kind in Brawl later.

 **(Sorry, Curio. I won't stop you from talking, but where are you going with this?)**

Eh, you'll find out soon enough.

"Hey," I said, "Might be a stupid question, but what is Mewtwo? Are they even real?"

"Nope, just something they made for the games," he said, with a hint of sadness. "Would be awesome, though. He's got a kickass backstory. Was made by scientists in an experimental lab or somethin', then wrecked their _shit_ and flew away! It'd rock if I were like him."

There was that human cuss again. He liked to use it a lot, believe me. I didn't really know how to take that and just mumbled a reply. Still, it would've been awesome if someone like Mewtwo existed. He always struck me as cool, you know.

PZ picked Mewtwo, and in a matter of seconds, we were pitted in an arena against each other. Before I even knew what I was doing, he started attacking me, using a variety of techniques, not unlike a Pokemon fight, except not real, of course. I frantically mashed the buttons, hoping I would get a hit, but whenever I did, a red sphere emerged, and he blocked my attack. From what I could read, the percentage on my character was getting higher until it got red, until he launched one last attack, sending me careening off the screen. I had lost a life.

"Oh, come on!" I stood up, gathering up pangs of anger. "Lemme attack!"

"You'd be dead if this was a real fight. Get good."

I tried to move my character out of the way and managed to evade a few attacks. I still needed to get a hit on him, so again, I mashed the buttons, and managed to shoot a jolt of electricity at him, but this victory was short lived. He dodged, rolled, kicked my ass and sent me flying again. One life left. I don't know why, but it was a lot more frustrating than dealing with an actual fight, probably because you're not concerned with saving your own bacon.

"Ugh, _shit!_ " I swore for the first time, out of many times to come in the future.

"Yeah, that's it!" he said. "Feels good to swear, doesn't it?!"

"Shut up!" I deflected his comment while I tried to deflect another barrage of attacks. That time, I actually saw what I was doing to my own character and figured out they did different attacks depending on what button you pressed along with the direction of your movement. "Hey, why didn't you tell me I could do that?"

"Noobs should learn to fight on their own!"

Once I figured that out, I actually got a few more hits on him before he got the edge on me. Then a few more hits. I must've accidentally hit one button since that sent him flying off too, making him lose a life, at long last.

"Oh no, you didn't!"

That victory was short lived. Since I was in the red, after he came back, it only took one more hit for me to lose the match, taking us back to the character select screen.

"That wasn't fair!" I said, crossing my arms, "I didn't even know what a game was 'til now, and you wanted me to beat you?"

"Life ain't fair," he said, touching my chest with his claw. "I know cuz' I've been there."

I stopped to stare at his various scars, some of which covered his belly. "What happened?"

"Eh." He crossed his legs. "I ain't gonna tell you some tragic backstory or anythin', but I got thrown into the deep end pretty early on, you know. It's a lot different in the cities than in the wild, ya know. Strays can be pretty _effing_ vicious. I know, since I was one of them."

"Oh." I didn't know how to take that, or if I could've even trusted PZ at that point. He must've seen my face since he chuckled.

"Don't worry, I don't bite. I ain't never been much of a fighter, so if I wanna kick your ass, I can just get you to play this game." He turned back to the screen. "When I thought I had nothin', games helped me get through those tough times. Like real life, I got good on my own, ya know."

"Then why'd you come here?"

"Eh, maybe I could make these games too at some point. Might just be wishful thinkin' for a dumb Mon like me, but screw it. I'll take one chance over none."

"Well said, PZ," Basil said, joining us, "But if you want to keep a playmate, you should at least teach her how to do it so she has a fighting chance."

"Alright, alright." He flicked a claw at him. "We can go into training mode, then have a rematch. How's that sound?"

"Great!" I pumped my fist in the air. "I'm gonna wreck your _shit!_ "

So we ended up playing until dinner calls came around, and although I got scolded for breaking into another base, it was worth it in the end.

 **(So, what was the point of that again?)**

Well, Shine would have kind of a good idea, wouldn't you? You know what he did, right?

 **(Vaguely.)**

Well then. There's that. But some time passed after that. We got some lessons in evolution from the Medicham, who told us we'd only have to evolve when we want to, and could, in theory, stay a Riolu or a Shinx forever if we wanted to, ya dig? Sorry, couldn't resist. I liked the way he talked. But after that, some of them started evolving, including Abraxas, who became a Kadabra, at double the height and double the pissant he was. I think the Munchlax was a bit worried about turning into a Snorlax, and I could see why. If that happened indoors, he'd probably find it really hard to get through doors without breaking a new hole through the frame.

Even more time passed. I won't prattle on much more, since most of the year after that family drama was just growing up in the facility, but I should probably mention something else before we jump ahead a bit. Even after that pep talk from Basil, that didn't really stop the nightmares. I had a particularly bad one about, er, something. I don't remember this time. I think I was trying to listen to another one of Mom's stories, but the words were all wrong and her voice was all distorted. That one in particular got me a bit teary-eyed, and yet, it was in the middle of the night where the fake sky was turned off to save power.

Everyone else was fast asleep. Yet no matter how much I tried, I couldn't lull myself back to that. My heart felt heavy and my throat felt sore. Then an idea popped in my head. Not a very good idea, since that meant sneaking through the hallways after curfew, but I needed to be a bit selfish for once. I wanted Shine to read to me, just to bring back that little, innocent moment earlier in my childhood.

I picked up the myth book from my stash and ventured into the deep, dark corridors. Except they weren't really dark. For that matter, there were dim lights everywhere, not so bright that it overpowered the insides, but enough that you could see where you were going even without the see-in-the-dark vision I had. Since my presence was still there I listened out for anyone that might've been on the watch: footsteps, pawpads, anything that gave me a hint that there were staff walking around. Zilch. Must've been a slow day for them.

The hallways pulsed with the hum of electricity coming from the lights. It didn't steady the beating of my heart from my nightmares, but I crept through the corridors in any case, searching for those checkerboard walls, through one corridor and another. I padded through the hallway, and on the next turn, there was another corridor, with a sign that pointed to the checkered hallway and said 'GeLborn Nursery'. I grinned. All that time spent, trying not to fall asleep in those human language classes suddenly paid off.

I padded through the last corridor, and after that, I'd be able to meet Shine again, even if it meant waking him up. All I needed to do was walk through the hallway to the left. But suddenly, straight ahead of me, a bright, purple ball of energy popped out from one of the walls. What I saw made my heart stop.

Can I get a drum roll, please? No? Alright then, feel free to cut this part out. It was a Gastly.

My body froze. I'd never seen a ghost type before; maybe in that show, but not for real. It looked at me once, then flashed a Scary Face, like something from one of my nightmares. Even after all the crap I've been through to get here in this room, I never forgot the first time I saw that tortured look on its face, eyes bulging, like it'd seen a ghost, or a ghost's ghost, if you'd like.

I freaking bricked it. I didn't care if anybody heard me, I just ran as fast as I could until I charged through the GeLborn door and slammed it shut behind me. By then, everybody else was awake, including Shine.

"Huh?" he muttered, half-awake, "W-what's—"

"Guys! Guys!" I yelled, trying to explain what I just saw, "There was this purple thing that came out of the walls and I dunno what it is but it looks scary and I thought it was gonna kill me and—"

"Shut up!" the Bidoof named Bang yelled, burying himself in the pillows, "I'm trying to sleep here!"

"B-b—but… I-I'm—" Why that encounter almost made me crap my pants of all things, I have no clue, but I bit back my fear and bundled up close to Shine. He turned to me and yawned, with those glowy eyes of his shining in the dark.

"Shine?" I whispered. "Help."

"Um," he muttered, "W-what's wrong?"

"I can't sleep. I had another bad dream."

"Oh, um, sorry to hear that."

There was a pause between us.

"Sorry," I said, "Didn't mean to wake everyone up, ya know. It's just, I couldn't help it this time."

"T-that's fine. Um, sometimes, I get these weird dreams too. Poor Patches has to deal with my sorry behind whenever that happens, don't you?"

"Mmm-hmm," the Pachirisu muttered in his ball of fluff. "This guy's a pawful, alright. Though give yerself a lil' credit, you've come a long way."

"Mmm!" Milly said. "You're actually fun this time!"

"Oh." Shine let out a nervous laugh. "Um, thanks."

 **(Just to interrupt, Milly usually hassled me to play with her dolls, and I'd just usually play along. It was actually kind of fun, roleplaying as someone else in whatever little stories she came up with. I still roleplay every now and then, at least online.)**

Roleplaying? Isn't that for nerds?

 **(And can you say much, considering how much you talk about films and figurines?)**

Eh, point taken.

He shook that comment off and glanced at the storybook. "That's your mother's book, isn't it?"

"Yeah." I held it to my chest and squeezed it tightly. "I miss mama's stories sometimes, ya know. If it ain't too much to ask, but, er, can you read to me?"

He cocked his head.

"Yeah, I know it sounds weird, but I kinda need it. I can read a little bit on my own now, but it just ain't the same without someone else."

Even in the dark, his face visibly brightened, and the doodad on the end of his tail swished back and forth. "Yes, I'd love to. We'd need to turn the light on, though."

"Put that ceiling light on and you're dead meat," Bang said, "That one's way too bright."

"Oh, I got it." Patches grunted, and the back of his fur bristled with all sorts of sparks, until a glowing fur ball suddenly popped out from his coat. It brought a little light into the room, which would be enough for him to read from.

"Wish I could do that," Shine said.

"You'll get there in time," Patches said, "Though I think I'd find one of your glowing hairballs kinda gross."

Shine grumbled, but gestured for me to lie down on the pillows while he flicked through the pages. When I got comfortable, I opened one eye and saw him focused on the text. He seemed so confident right then and there.

"Shine?" I said.

"Yes?"

"Um, thanks for everything."

He smiled and stopped on one page. Now, I don't exactly remember the story off by heart, since I fell asleep halfway through, and in all fairness, young me would've been bored to sleep by the story anyway if I got past the Arceus part. If you have the book lying about somewhere though, Shine, please read it out.

 **(Oh, right, I do! I'll get it quickly, and… there. Ahem, the story is called Foreword: Excerpt from 6,000,000,000,000 Years Before the First.**

 **Consider the following.**

 **In a place without form or void, an egg hatched, and evolved into a being later known as Arceus. From both its divine light and shadow painted tendrils, it created Dialga and Palkia, time and space, and focused on one fixed point in the universe to form what would later be known as Earth. For life to exist, there must first be a host, after all. For life to exist, there must be a measurement where all can be birthed, live for one cycle, then decompose. For life to exist, there must be the chemicals that allow the elements to mix, and become material objects and beings. All tangible concepts, yet made from something so intangible.**

 **Again, with its thousand hands, Arceus shaped the Earth through a series of natural phenomena. The earthquakes shaped the land. The atmospheres made the skies. The precipitation from the skies made the seas. Even before life as we know it existed by Mew's creation, Arceus created Azelf, Uxie and Mespirit, the three of which symbolise willpower, knowledge and emotion. All abstract concepts, yet capable of making the intangible tangible.**

 **It is said they retreated to the respected lakes Valor, Acuity and Verity. At one point, Heatran was also formed as well. With all the necessary components for life to exist and inhabit its host, Arceus retreated into the aether, and the Legendaries slept along with them.**

 **This is the most common interpretation of how the world was formed. However, I must address you, reader, and ask you to read between the lines.**

 **To imagine a place without form or void, and for life to eventually come into being out of nothing, is incomprehensible. It is like writing words onto a set of parchment, but without the ink, the pen or the paper to make such a thing possible. For any creation to exist without a creator itself is also unimaginable. It is like trying to create a word without any of the oral history that came before it, or even a voice to express it.**

 **For Dialga and Palkia to manipulate time and space respectively, they must be physical concepts. But time and space are both abstractions of different natures. Time is an illusion, created to define its passage from day to night, to moon and earth cycles at a fixed point. Space is a mathematical construct, created after aeons of years of research into physical distance. None can truly be grasped.**

 **Even more confusing is the myth of Giratina, the Pokemon banished to the distortion world, that represents antimatter, and therefore has the ability to travel between dimensions. To grasp just one universe is enough of a herculean task by itself; to grasp an infinite amount of universes afterwards, and to split apart the fabric of reality to transit between others, is impossible.**

 **And if, for the sake of argument, such a thing was possible, what would be on the other end of the wormhole? A different version of Earth, perhaps? A completely different planet with a completely different species with no humans or Pokemon inhabiting it? Or just humans with animals stripped of their powers? Perhaps Pokemon on their own?**

 **In the end, this is all speculation. But for the sake of argument, let us propose an alternative myth.**

 **Before the world was split into many different pieces, there was only one continent, known as the Nameless Locus. Arceus still existed, but in a much different form, more akin to a giant, white stalked pyre than a four legged beast. Before humans and Pokemon as we know them today, there were three species that each bore two halves and four sets of legs and arms or forepaws and hindpaws. The first had both human halves, with limbs on each side, front to back, that could either walk forwards or backwards, and formed civilisations of their own. The second had both Pokemon halves, and crawled through the lands like Spinarak with their back halves facing the sky, stalking the wild to hunt their prey. The third and last one, which is now extinct, had one human half and one Pokemon half, capable of both running through the terrain at tremendous speeds and forging materials with their hands. This third species was gifted with both the ferocity of a feral and the cunning of a human.**

 **Arceus, one day, grew to hate their own creation, against the will of the other Legendaries who argued otherwise. Uxie, Azelf and Mespirit, all representing willpower, knowledge and emotion, argued with the white god, that their actions would undo aeons of years of progress. The lake trio fought to undo this decision, but once Arceus retaliated, they were overpowered, and banished to a dormant sleep in Valor, Acuity and Verity. With the assistance of Zapdos' lightning and Arceus' divine judgement, all of the halves were split into two, with the human and Pokemon halves separated forever. Not long after, the continents were split into the regions you see today, and after that, Arceus and their Legendaries left this realm behind.**

 **It is said that the split halves are soulmates, and that the process of finding a mate is to rekindle that bond, and become whole once again. Humans married other humans and settled into jobs. Pokemon mated with other Pokemon and marked their territories. But what happened to the Pokemon who belonged to human halves, and vice versa? There are humans who feel out of place in their own bodies and wish to roam free in the wild, while there are Pokemon who feel trapped by their own design and wish to shoulder the burdens the humans have. Permanently displaced, not belonging to either civil or feral worlds, they roam the earth, looking for a soulmate or a reason for their own existence, but never find it in the end. For it was never by Arceus' design for the two to become one. Or so they thought.**

 **But even this can be held under scrutiny, as the body is made of bones, organs and muscles, while the soul is another fiction. But then, how does aura or ghost types exist?**

 **With that in mind, if the myths of the creators can be disproved, then what can be taken away from this foreword?**

 **That there is no definite truth. The only common thread between all of these myths is that in the end, the Gods will sleep, and man and Pokemon will be left to develop on their own in time. For no one has seen trace of, or seen physical evidence of a Legendary since even before the first history books or the first Unown hieroglyphs were written in dead languages. For one cannot document the truth if they existed after the creators vanished with no trace of their whereabouts. It cannot be universal.**

 **However, even if it is not universal, it does not make it devoid of meaning. The idea of a creator, or the concept of a story has inspired entire civilisations to create their own philosophies, and pass them from generation to generation. Of course, with each telling, the story becomes more warped, until it becomes divorced from its original meaning. The illustration you see before you of Arceus, is a human representation of what the creator was supposed to have looked like, after thousands of designs were thrown out and retooled.**

 **Even this very book you're reading is a product of many fictions collated together, as well as many different folk tales, historical documents and anecdotes stitched to create a story with arcs, morals and characters representing ideals in man and Pokemon. They do not reflect an absolute truth, or hint at a real person or Pokemon's events, but they do reflect emotional truths nonetheless.**

 **To you, dear reader, who chances upon this book, I request of you to draw your own conclusions and seek your own truths from these following tales. Question whose stories you listen to. Question the history books you read. Question the gospel of those who might challenge your world view. It is the reason humanity has progressed to the point it has. Pokemon, however, have yet to climb as high as human civilizations as of this writing.**

 **But to those Pokemon who are capable of reading, or listening to someone who reads the words you hear, question the words of your human superiors. Bite the hands that feed you. Strive to create your own societies, cultures and art forms, and defy those who try to define you as mere beasts.**

 **Foreword and Sinnohan Myths and Fables by Delray X. Phoebus.)**


	24. Blue & Yellow & Ambrette's Interruption

So a lot of time passed and not much happened. I got better at the human tongue, found more time for drawing, and got along well with my friends without much drama. That was pretty much it. I've waffled on enough, so let's jump to a week or so before the second year began.

Azzy told us what to expect from the next bout of lessons, where we would have more freedom to explore our own interests and choose the sort of lessons we wanted to pick, and when left to our own devices in the class, there was a lot of excited discussion from every subject in our group. Out of our wild pack, I was the only one that roughly knew what we wanted to do, which was to learn art. Hans cheered me on, and even M, who had evolved into an Ambipom and Marowak respectively, seemed accepting of the idea. From the other side of the room, I saw Shine and Patches talking amongst themselves, so I approached them.

"Do you guys know what you wanna do?"

"Well, yeah, but it's a secret," Patches said with a wink, "It's kinda weird, take my word for it. This guy, on the other paw…"

Shine sighed and laid on the floor. "My head hurts just thinking about it. Everyone sounds like they have so many interests like you do, Curio, yet I'm stuck without any idea about where to start. What am I going to do when the next year comes and I haven't thought about anything? What if I disappoint Azzy? Am I going to fail, or be kicked out, or-"

"Hey," I said, patting his increasingly-frazzled head. "You're thinkin' about this way too much, just relax."

"I can't relax, I don't have anything about me that sticks out! I'm completely boring!"

"So? That doesn't matter, the rest of my team don't know what they're doin' either. What're you good at, anyway?"

"Nothing."

"Keep that up," Patches said, tugging at his ear, "And I'll zap ya! I thought we went past this, already. You can read better than most of the Pokemon here already, why aren't you proud of that?"

"Ow!" Shine said, pulling away from that blue imp, "Alright, alright, I can read well, please let go!"

Patches did as told and Shine got to his feet, although he still looked sad with those drooping eyes of his, and his aura was full of turmoil again. I just gave him a head pat at this point. He seemed to like those.

"See? There you go. You can stop worrying now, you doof."

"Doof? I'm not a doof."

"You are, in a good way." I pulled away. "Look, I love it when you read. Your stories are always interestin'. Besides, I think they're gonna talk with us to find out what we want, so I think none of us will be left out. And if you are, I'll come join ya. We'll be misfits together, won't we?"

Rarely for him, he actually smiled at the suggestion, and a part of that dampening feeling went away, like a curse had been lifted. True, it slipped my mind not long after, since I got carried away by the excitement of the year ending. For our first big celebration, I guess, we were all ordered to go into one large room where a photo guy told us to stand still for him to take a group picture of us. With all the different varieties of Pokemon there of varying egos and sizes, you could imagine it was hard getting us all in one shot.

I stood still, smiling plainly at the camera. Some like Hans made a series of silly faces even though they hadn't taken the shot yet. Some like M refused to cooperate at first, stepping outside the frame before being ordered back. Patches had to get Shine to look up to the guy as he was still lost in thought. Then, there was this weird old biddy and her Mismagius that stood to one side, waiting for the shot, which I stared curiously at. Then, she drew a Pokeball out and out came that Gastly. It was so sudden, I almost lost balance and toppled to the floor, though I had Hans to support me with that tail of his, as if on instinct. It took minutes for her to get the Gastly to float in one place and not smoke everybody out, including me, and I tried my best to ignore it as I made my best pose for the shot.

All things considered, we had a good time that day, as it was nice seeing everybody bunched up into one place. They arranged a little party for us with lots of treats and stuff, so that was a bonus. I wish I actually saw the photo or got to take it with us, but we never did. Either that or it was brought up so casually that none of us remembered it.

But yeah, that leads into when the second year actually started. We were summoned to the lecture room again, where everyone was: the mediators, the students, even the old guy Cartwright and that Gardevoir Lucy. That was the first time I saw them in ages, and they looked pretty much the same as before, except Lucy had a new dress this time. Where she got all of them from, I wasn't sure, but just don't ask me about fashion advice. She hovered and helped the old man to the podium, where they both presented themselves to speak.

""Humans and Pokémon alike," they spoke in their respective tongues again, "You have all done an excellent job so far, and for that, we thank you as we head towards our second year."

They gestured to the row of humans.

"All of you studying here have produced fantastic work. Not only have some of you worked closely with our beloved Pokemon, listening to them and guiding them through tough times, you have also given insightful observations and papers on the research gathered so far, and we sincerely hope you can keep this up in the future. And then you subjects in question..."

They moved their hands to our row.

"You have also done exceptionally well. It is a huge step for Pokemon to conquer their own limits, learning what some human children might learn in a matter of two years. So far, you have proven the rest of the world wrong by coming here to learn so much about ours. To speak like humans, to learn like humans, and to read like humans, is all extraordinary, and for the second year, we have so much planned ahead for you.

Not only will you be able to access the library and gym in your spare time now, you shall also start choosing the subjects you're most interested in, and will use that to direct your studies for the rest of your time here."

"As we should have done before," Abraxas said.

"About freakin' time," PZ said.

"Whatever field you are interested in: training, medicine, history, art, building, science, accounting, and much more, we shall provide the means for you to practice it, as you'll each be assigned personal teachers aside from your own tutors to help you. You will have your own designated rooms with equipment to practice your work, and be given assignments, much like the ones you've had before. This is an exciting opportunity for all of you, and will lead to you achieving many great feats in the future.

Now, for those we'd like to mention who did particularly well in their studies, first, we would like to mention this Pachirisu, Patches, over there."

They pointed to his spot, which I imagine was hard to tell apart from all the other furry subjects, big and small. I remember seeing the confused looks of the humans on the other side of the room, since they probably couldn't see where the hell the old man was pointing to. You couldn't exactly tell them to stand up as it didn't make much difference standing up or sitting down for a Pachirisu.

"Not only have you been a great source of support for the subjects in your group, you've also done well in your studies, especially with your interest in human affairs and stitching so far. We hope you'll be able to continue this good work in the future."

Everyone else in his team cheered him on, although I was the only one outside of the group that clapped, since they probably didn't know him well.

"And next, we would like to mention this Riolu, Curio, here."

As you could imagine, it was surprising to be called out in front of so many people. I didn't know how to react at first, so I just stood up, soaking in the attention from the Pokemon in the rest of my group and the human students staring at me. I saw Lexy and Mack in the crowd, who seemed to be gunning for me.

"You have also been a great source of support for the other subjects, and during this year, you persevered through difficult times to make the most of your studies. We wish the best of luck to you in the future as well."

Everyone in my team clapped, including Basil, PZ and Patches in the other teams, while Shine just smiled, not being able to clap himself, I expect. Again, not knowing how to deal with that sudden appraisal, I bowed my head awkwardly and sat back down, tugging at my aura sensors. Way to go, me, I guess. At that point, I just wanted to get out of the room and back to my nook in the garden to draw. That makes me sound like some shut in, but you must've had that feeling before, I expect, Tony.

 **(More than you'd think.)**

"And last, but certainly not least, is this Kadabra, Abraxas. You've made exceptional progress so far, learning subjects ahead of the other students. Not only is your grasp of the human language excellent, you are also an adept reader and show interest in a variety of studies. Your fighting skills are also unmatched, and show a lot of promise in your psychic abilities. For this, we would like to invite you on this stage, and if you would like to say anything, we would be happy to give you a platform to speak."

Abraxas got to his feet and strutted through the lecture hall as if he owned the place. Knowing his own powers, he probably could've, but anyway, the duo stepped aside for him to stand in the centre of the hall, as he was just the perfect height for the podium. He adjusted the microphone with his claw and leaned into it.

" _Well, well,"_ he spoke in human, which already set him apart. _"I'm pleased to speak in front of you all right now, and now, you shall see me for the excellence that I am."_

Welp, here we go. Even when I'm thinking back to this, a part of me just wants to reach into this memory and scream bloody murder at him.

" _I have worked exceptionally hard to get into this domicile, and now, I shall make the most of my time here, more than you lowly commoners will."_

He raised one claw to our group, or rather, he raised it towards me, I imagine.

" _I shall not bow down to you. I will only speak to you the way I view you, as a collection of worthless, wild individuals who have no idea how to direct themselves. It is a wonder you all..."_

You get the idea. He just ranted about the other Pokemon, particularly us in the wild pack for ages, and the whole time I had my paws balled into fists. I waited for any of the higher-ups to stop him from yammering on any further, but that moment never came until he bashed his paw on the wooden podium, making a resounding echo through the tightly packed room.

" _I shall exceed every possible subject and outrun all of you scum. And with that, I shall take my leave. Thank you."_

He strutted back to his own spot. Cartwright took up his place on the speaker, looking flushed red, which showed all of his wrinkles even from far away.

"Ahem, thank you, Abraxas. That, um, wasn't necessary at all, but I'm glad you're, er, enthusiastic." His tone was less than pleased. Good on him, but I still didn't know why he just let him speak like that. "In any case, thank you all for coming, and I wish you all the best for the rest of your time here."

A burst of claps followed, drowning out the awkward silence Abraxas' speech left in the room. However, even as everybody broke for it and we were supposed to make our own way back to our respective bases, I wasn't going to let it go. Not while he strutted about as if Arceus dipped themselves in yellow body paint and started walking on their hindlegs. I strayed away from my own team, even as Azzy tried to call me back, and joined the line of the domestic subjects where Abraxas walked.

"Hey, Abraxas!" I yelled, trying to get his attention as I stormed over to him. He didn't turn back. I thought back to PZ's phrasebook and remembered that one human swear he liked to use on others. "Hey, you _shithead!_ What's your problem, huh?"

"Sir Abraxas, please." The Kadabra stopped in his tracks and crossed his arms. "What do you want, puny urchin?"

"P-puny?" I was taken aback by the comment, but I brushed it off and pointed at him. "Never mind, I've had just about enough of this! All you've done is talk about how amazing you are and how stupid everyone else is, and I'm sick of it! What makes you think you're better than me, huh?"

He gave me that shit-eating grin of his.

"I've mastered most of the subjects taught in class, and I've gone beyond that. I've read all of the books in our room, I've honed in on my psychic abilities. I could fling you across this very hallway without lifting a claw."

"You wanna try me, huh?"

"With that puny Riolu form of yours? Go ahead. It will be entertaining to see you crash and burn."

"Yeah, let's go, let's go now!"

And so, we both got in our battle positions, his spoons raised towards me, and my paws burning with anticipation. We didn't care if the staff stopped us or not. I sprang towards him, claws ready to scratch, making the first move. He raised his spoon and-" 

* * *

All of a sudden, the tripod holding the camera toppled over, sending the equipment crashing to the floor. It hit the ground with a great thud, and soon after, something shattered. Everyone in the room looked at it with shock written on their faces. Nobody said anything for a while, as the electric energy in the room pulsed in the background. Tony rushed to examine what had happened, starting with the camera first, and gave an exasperated sigh.

"Aw, bugger." He turned the camera around, revealing the lens, where a significant portion of the glass had cracked off and scattered into pieces on the floor.

 _"What happened?"_ Shine said, examining the casualty.

"Damn wheel broke off the tripod," Tony said. "It wouldn't have been a big deal if the camera wasn't so heavy."

 _"Oh dear."_ Shine looked at Curio with concern. _"Is all the footage of her going to be fine?"_

Curio shot a smirk at Tony, who fiddled around with all the different buttons. _"I hope I won't have to do all that talking again."_

"No, it's all fine." Tony showed the screen to the two, which replayed the footage from Curio's interview. "It's just the lens that's screwed up. That'll be another few ten thousand down the drain."

 _"Don't you have other lenses you can use?"_ Shine said.

"Well, yes, but they're not any good for close up shots like this. The aperture's important for studio settings like this, after all. Without that, the shots won't look as good." Tony stretched his arms. "But it's been a solid two hours, so let's call it a day for now. I'm gonna go transfer the footage over. Curio, can you pick up all the glass for me while I do that, please? There's a dustpan in the kitchen."

 _"What am I, your maid?"_

"Well, you can nab something from the fridge if you do that for me, deal?"

 _"Deal."_

They waited for Tony to exit the room before Shine jumped on the couch to cuddle next to Curio. She stroked his mane in return.

"How did you find that?" he said.

"Good!" She grinned. "I was really starting to get into the flow of things, but oh well, we have all the time in the world, I guess. How much do you remember now?"

He hummed to himself. Through Curio's speeches, that brought back bits and pieces of his experiences back. He only remembered it in broad strokes still, but he didn't talk about his first year in such detail to Tony, only that he often sulked and talked very little. Having someone else's view on him put into perspective how damaged he was at the beginning. He was well off, sure, but being born in such an environment without much guidance was enough to make any young Pokemon feel unwanted.

Little bits and pieces came back to him, about how he'd train his electricity harnessing skills with Patches, or how the Munchlax named Tom would bring him snacks back from the cafeteria if he was too depressed to go to the cafeteria and eat.

"Yes." Shine smiled, then purred as she hit that sweet spot. "Now I remember all the good times I had, and half of those, I wouldn't have experienced if it wasn't for you."

"Aw, ho ho!" Curio pulled him in for a hug, nuzzling his forehead. "You don't know how proud that makes me feel. It was kinda sad seein' you like that before. But oh well." She brushed him away and got to her feet, examining the pile of broken glass. "We should probably get a move on. Besides, I could do with a little snack."

And so, Curio picked up the glass without much effort, threw it away, and fished two Oran berries out of the fridge for her and Shine. They padded over to Tony's side, who hunched over the desk, clicking and dragging several files into one folder. He smiled as he put his arms around both Pokemon.

"This is looking really exciting, you guys. Thanks for helping me through this."

 _"Werlcolme!"_ Curio said in the middle of a bite.

 _"Thanks,"_ Shine said, _"But I didn't do much. I just sat there."_

"Yes," Tony said, "But you contributed as well, plus I learned quite a bit I wouldn't have before if it wasn't for your comments."

 _"I suppose."_

Tony rotated his chair and swivelled to Curio's direction.

"So, who won the fight in the end?"

 _"Me, of course!"_

 _"No you didn't!"_ Shine said, _"It was Abraxas! He won when he made you punch yourself!"_

"Aw, c'mon Shine, I've got an image to hold up here! _So who do you believe, Ant?"_

"Ant?" Tony said, then his eyes widened. "Oh, Anthony. Well, you were a Riolu, and you didn't have your aura abilities mastered yet, so I'm more inclined to believe Shine here."

 _"Ugh, whatever. That's totally not biased. But anyways, I gotta go. I wanna set up camp soon."_

"Fair enough." Tony gave her a friendly smile. "If you want to stay here, my offer's still up, if you don't find it a shithole anymore."

 _"Thanks,"_ Curio said, smiling back, _"I get that, but I need my own space. Maybe some other time, depends on how I feel, you know._ Well, laters Shine."

"See you later." Shine went with Curio to see her out the door, where she ruffled his mane once more before leaving the two alone. He sighed, and padded over to the couch, sinking into its comfy leather cushioning. It was weird, hearing the apartment go silent once more with the exception of Tony's clicking. He needed that moment of silence, but it also made him zero in on his own thoughts from after the interview.

Aside from the leftover memories, there was the thought of Curio's family that tugged at the back of his mind. They were fine, but what about Liam? How was that the last time Curio spoke to him? And why just Liam? What about the rest of the family?

He looked to Tony, who kept himself occupied on the computer. Curio still never answered his question of how that came to be. Either there wasn't enough time for her to answer, or it completely slipped her mind and needed a nudge in the right direction. And so, Shine leapt off the seat and headed towards the front door.

"Going after her?" Tony called.

" _Yes,"_ he said, _"If I'm not back, I'll probably still be with her for the rest of the night."_

"Just remember to come back to pick up the package tomorrow morning. Deli the Delibird should be coming to drop it off at ten, got it?"

He almost wanted Tony to repeat that to make sure his ears didn't need scrubbing. Delibird delivered in the summertime now? Shine brushed that thought aside though and muttered a reply as he made his way to Curio. He ventured out of the apartment, trotted down the complex's winding stairs and padded into the coast-side, where Curio was in her usual spot, tinkering away.

"Yo," she said without needing to look back. "Glad you came."

Shine nodded and lay down close to her, putting his head on her lap. "You didn't talk about your family."

Curio sighed and put the figure away. "No, I guess I didn't." Her tone wasn't apologetic. "But if you wanna know anything, shoot."

"Well, what I mostly want to know is what happened to Trunks and Ruti and everyone else. Did you ever meet them again?"

"Yeah, actually."

Shine sat up and gazed at the Lucario. Her green eyes seemed to be glinting in the night sky again. "What, really?"

"Yeah, and most of 'em are doing great!" She put her paws on his shoulders, showing her enthusiasm. "They ended up setting up camp in Sunyshore, of all places. I saw Twig and Stumpy, and you know what, it's really surreal seeing them grow into Lucario after all this time!"

"I bet it is."

"Yeah. Mom's still as much of a storyteller as she was back then, though her eyesight's gotten a bit funny as of late. And Trunks' pretty much become the breadwinner, and you know what else, he teaches all the local Pokemon stuff!"

"Oh, Curio," Shine smiled wide, showing his fangs, "That's wonderful!"

"Yeah, they're all doing great after all this time." She frowned and stared off into the ocean, fiddling with a rock. "Liam, as far as I know from what happened, can go and get _fucked."_

Shine squeaked at the sudden use of that word. "Curio, that's—"

"Yeah, I know. Pardon my Kalosan and all, but I'm not mincing words with that guy." She tossed the stone into the sea, making it skip several steps before it sank underwater. "Look, I'll tell you what actually happened." She gritted her teeth. "You know he said he'd try to be a better and stronger Mon for us? That turned out to be a goddamned lie. When he was on that island in autumn, he tried to kill himself."

"W-what?"

"Yeah, you heard me right, he tried to freeze his ass to death on the island. Mom told me when I met her and the rest. He was a bloody wreck. After that phone call I had on the third month, he tried to starve himself first. He kept saying he was worthless and didn't find any reason to go on. Mom had to hunt for him and force him to eat; he was that much of a mess."

"Oh, dear."

"And that's not all! That went on until the end of winter. When Cecrops came and offered to take them back, he wanted to stay. Even if the ocean would've frozen over, all he wanted to do was waste away there. Then Mom had a right go at him. She kept saying she'd kick his ass in the afterlife if he ever did such a thing; especially for the sake of such a young Riolu like me far away from home. After much convincing, he finally backed down and went with them. But after Cecrops took them back, he disappeared. He completely ran off from my family, leaving Trunks to pick up the pieces and essentially take over as the Dad of the family."

Shine growled. "After all that time..."

"Yeah, so there, I don't take back what I said about him; that guy can go eat a Groudon _dick_ for all I care." She made a metal fist. "If I meet him in person ever again, I'll punch his teeth out with this hand."

Shine stared off into the sea along with her, trying to process what she said.

"Why didn't you mention this in the interview?"

"Why does it matter?" Curio laid down on the sand and stared up at the sky. "I wanted to keep it between you and me. I didn't wanna load all my dirty laundry on Tony, and besides, why not leave it to the imagination of whoever's watching? That way, they can think he redeemed himself or some crap like that in the end. At least, that's what I wanna believe."

Shine said nothing at first. He sighed and laid down with Curio, sympathetically inching close to her.

"I think they'd like to know what happened to the rest of your family though," he said. "I know I would. After what you told me about them here, and in GeL, I'd love to meet them in person."

"I still keep tabs on them, sometimes, since they have a number I can ring. Maybe in another universe, I woulda settled with them, but if that was the case, then I wouldn't have met you again."

He purred into her side. They didn't say anything after that, and confided in each other's company. As much as the sand stuck to his fur and dampened his static charge, that moment in time felt perfect. Shine closed his eyes, and before he drifted off to sleep, something gently pecked his head.


	25. Special Interlude - Found and Lost 1

I'm still trying to process what happened a while ago. When I was still learning how to write, I was often told to log down my troubling thoughts. These helped me in the past when I had to come to terms with Dad's disappearance. This time, though, I'm not so sure. We'll see. But maybe I should start from the beginning of that week, now I have the time to write this down.

-trunks-

On Monday morning, my Simisear partner, Cavi, stuck his finger in my ear to wake me up. Even though I was half-asleep, I could still see him sneering at me while he munched on a Leppa berry.

"Really?" I said. "There are better ways to get me out of bed."

"Still got yer attention," he said. "Better than sleepin' through a human alarm. Now c'mon, we should get started soon."

I nodded and pushed the blankets aside. To this day, I still find beds a weird comfort to have, considering I used to sleep on grassy floors all the time, but we had earned it, along with the rest of the house.

I'm not sure if I've described the dojo before. I have a good picture of it in my head, but this time, I think it would be fun to paint a picture with words. Any chance for me to practise my writing skills, after all.

We slept in the living quarters of a dojo. Alongside the battle rooms fit for training other Pokemon, there was an annex that had its own bedroom, kitchen and living room. The bedroom I stood in had those soft bamboo mats that felt spongy underneath my paws, as well as paper walls that let screens of morning light into the room. It smelled like cooked rice as well. For humans, apparently, the house was traditional and primitive compared to most buildings in Sinnoh. When we first struck a deal with our human helper Eric, the place was disused, so most wouldn't have even set foot in it. Good thing there were no Gastly lurking about, otherwise, I doubt we would've found anywhere else to go.

Wanting to get to work as soon as possible, I nudged my family members awake. Mom, who called herself Ruti, and my second youngest brother, who Mom named Stumpy a while ago, went to the kitchen without much trouble. My youngest brother, Twig, though, was listening to that player of his, blaring music through the duvets. Once he peeked his head from under the covers, I yanked the headphones out.

"Nhh," he said, pulling back the blanket over him. "Was listenin' to that."

"Come on," I said, "You can listen to it later. For now, we've all got our part to play in setting everything up."

He feigned snoring, though through his aura, I could tell he was still awake. Just for that, I gave him a playful tug by the ears, which he groaned at. He still wouldn't budge.

"I could give that player back to your friends in the city," I said with a wide grin. "I'm sure they'd find another Mon willing to take it."

"Alright, fine, I'm gettin' up!" Twig got out of bed, at last, and stuck out his tongue at me as he left the room. I put the device to one side, being careful not to break it or anything. It was a wonder I didn't with my own meaty paws, so how he used it daily was beyond me.

Anyway, I had to eat breakfast. I went into the kitchen, which had its own set of luxuries as Eric had installed a water supply for us to use. I poured myself a glass and sat on the side, observing Mom as she helped Stumpy make breakfast. Another human appliance we used was the rice cooker, which was enough to accommodate breakfast, lunch and dinner. Stumpy often burned it if left to his own devices, but it gave him a purpose, anyway, so I didn't mind. Despite her near-sightedness, Mom was good at picking out the mistakes Stumpy made, like leaving the water to boil for too long or not asking Cavi to lend his flames enough. That was another perk of having a fire-type, alongside the fact that it provided a heat source in the primitive house. Not that we were exactly used to having central heating.

I might be getting sidetracked, but hopefully, it should be enough to go on. Once they finished preparing the eggy rice and berries, we sat on the low-cut table altogether. I dug into my dish straight away. Stumpy kneaded his paws together.

"Um," he asked, looking shiftily from left to right, "Is it nice?"

His aura yearned for encouragement.

"Of course," I said, smiling, "You did a good job."

"But ma did most of the work, didn't she?" Twig said. I elbowed him in the side for that one, and he took the hint. His aura didn't seem malicious, so I forgave him for that slight.

"Try being a bit more adventurous next time," Cavi said, wiping rice grains off his face. "Some pancakes would be nice."

"I think Eric spoils you enough," I said, "He pays for most of your meals anyway, doesn't he?"

"Well, yeah, when he's around."

"I could make you some, if you wanted," Mom said, smiling. "I know you Simisear have a sweet tooth."

"No we don't," he said, digging into a sweet Pecha berry, "That's species profiling, I tell ya."

"But you're not exactly an exception," I chimed in.

"Whatever." He shrugged, and spat the Pecha pits out. He drummed his paws on the mats, aura burning with fighting spirit. "I'm waitin' on you to finish, slowpoke."

I ate as fast as I could without giving myself indigestion, and we went on to carry out our own tasks. Me and Cavi sparred in the dojo part while the rest looked after the annex. It was important to train ourselves everyday in order to keep fit and healthy. We had to set an example for the dojo students, so we couldn't skimp out on the service. Cavi, I might add, was a natural born fighter, with way more experience in training with humans than I had. In any case, our first bases covered dodging each other's fireballs and aura spheres, and then the next bases covered mid-range combat, then close combat, and move theory. By the end of our sparring session, I had to rest for a bit in the garden, but that was a sign I had an excellent partner to work with. It often helped my meditation afterwards, as it gave me the chance to reflect on my own strengths and weaknesses. Stumpy followed suit in this philosophy, as it helped him focus on his own flaws without self-loathing, but it wasn't a virtue Twig seemed to follow. Perhaps that was because he was so easily distracted, but whatever. Maybe I was getting old.

By the time it turned midday, we were ready for the dojo session. The trainers came in and dropped their Pokemon off in the fighting area. While I was there to mediate between the Pokemon and the humans, Stumpy was there to keep records on which trainers came in and how much money they gave us; all of which would contribute to the dojo's rent. After that was sorted, we'd start by letting the Pokemon show off their moves, then let them train with each other, then guide them as they fought. I won't detail what each part was about, since I go through enough of that daily, but I thought I'd lay the groundwork.

Each session ended by training them to use the human tongue, as well as a reading from Mom with one of her many storybooks. The Mon seemed to enjoy it, although it wasn't technically a part of the dojo service, and if we were able to spread our knowledge to them, that would've made us happy for a long time.

Of course, after that, there was dinner, mediation, and the usual family bonding sessions, which I won't get too much into. But point is, we sat in the living room, perfectly content as we all played a board game together. That was when it happened. There was this presence that entered Sunyshore, which felt like an aura, except not. Auras were usually clear, and even if the person or Pokemon in question was the type to lock thoughts away, you could still see into them like an open book. This was the first time I felt an aura that was completely opaque, one you couldn't see into. Even Dad, way back when, didn't have that sort of aura. Save for Cavi, the rest of my family noticed it too as we were huddled around the blanketed table. We didn't talk about it, but we all exchanged glances.

"What's goin' on?" Cavi said, sucking a sugar cube. "Is there somethin' on my face again?"

"No," we said collectively. That satisfied him.

The rest settled down for the night. While they were able to go to sleep easily, I tossed and turned in my bed. Eventually, I got up, crept through the bamboo floors and meditated in my usual spot outside. That aura still picked and prodded at my head. It had no owner, or at least, didn't seem to, so there was no telling what species it was. For all I knew, it could've been an alien, like the ones Mom used to tell about in her stories back on the island. Then I thought about my sister again, and my heart felt all lumpy.

I hadn't heard from her for several years, how many exactly, I couldn't tell. I remembered those green eyes, that tuft of fur on her forehead, and her boundless curiosity. I often thought about what she was doing with that learning centre. I'm sure they taught her the skills to do just about anything.

Even further than that though, I thought about what she would've done with her life once she got out, or graduated, even. Maybe she even had a gallery of her own, proudly displaying her drawings. It was wishful thinking, sure, but there were a pawful of Pokemon that managed to break into that world, so why couldn't she? Or maybe she decided to travel the world with a trainer. Years ago, I would've cringed at the idea, but as long as she made her own decision to do it, I would've been happy. Maybe she was doing something completely different. Whatever it was, I hoped she found her place in the world.

I didn't move from my spot. After a while, I must've stopped meditating and drifted off to sleep in the open.

I woke up with the sunlight streaming on my face, and the flying-types making my body into a nest. Two Starly were perched on my lap, and a Swablu somehow found itself falling asleep on my head. It was oddly pleasant to have a flying ball of fluff atop of me, but still, I had to get to work. I gently shooed them away, then woke up my family to get the annex cleaned up. It was Twig's turn to wash the bed linens, and clearly wasn't happy about it.

"What's the point?" he said, holding a pile of sheets. "They're still white!"

"That doesn't mean they shouldn't be washed properly," I said. "What if they turn yellow with sweat?"

He groaned and went to the stream to clean them. Cavi watched, amused as he chomped into his berry of the day.

"I swear, this new generation of Mon sure are a handful. Do you think he'd like some cheese with that whine?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," I said, but in hindsight, that joke flew over my head. "But I'm not much older than him, so you're kind of insulting me in a way."

"I'm kiddin'." He patted his chest. "Out of the young Mon I've met, you've really come a long way. Just don't get too old, like me."

I hummed a reply. Truth be told, he certainly didn't have the mind of a veteran fighter, but still, I didn't really know how to take that compliment from him. I don't think I do in general.

We were in the kitchen cleaning up after breakfast, and me and Cavi were about to go off to spar more, but that faraway aura still nagged at me. He must've seen the look on my face since he put his paw on my shoulder.

"Something wrong? You got the face of a Grumpig there."

"I'm not sure I like being compared to swine," I said blankly, "But no. We should practise for the day. If that feeling doesn't go away, I'll let you know.'

He shrugged, then we went off to hone our usual techniques. Focusing my own aura in battle and keeping myself on my toes distracted me for a bit. Battle was just one of many forms of therapy, after all. But while it made me forget that tension for a bit, once our session was finished and we had time to recover, that sensation lingered over me again. It was like something died in the dojo and its stink had spread across the building; you couldn't have escaped from it no matter how much you tried. But while that whiff was there, it was worth doing a deep clean instead of letting it fester, so to speak. When we headed back to the kitchen, Cavi turned and crossed his arms.

"Is this gonna get in the way of teachin' those Pokemon?"

"Possibly. I'm sorry, but I can't go on like this. Can you cover for me today?"

He sighed, but ultimately smiled and flicked his paw away. "Whatever. It's the same batch of students, so I can always ask Stumpy to sort the boring stuff out."

So that was that. I thanked him before heading off to find the source of that aura. I might as well have killed two fliers with one stone, so Mom gave me a grocery list as well as how much each item would cost.

After saying goodbye, I went to the treasury room and took out all the money I'd need from Eric's safe. At least he reimbursed us that way. On a side note, however, I should say that my family were the only Pokemon he trusted with that sort of power, as even Cavi didn't have that sort of autonomy we did. Most Pokemon still don't, anyway. But I digress. With that, I stepped outside the dojo and set off on my journey.

I should also explain the dojo is up on the higher parts of Sunyshore. There are a lot of cliffs and hills, since it is a coastal town, but even with that, we were higher up where the grass grew and was partly connected to the forest. While the walk from the dojo down to the inner city was long, one thing that helped was the tram system. Since Sunyshore was a huge network for ports, they needed a good transit system as well, and the trams were always easy to hop on and off. On a good day when it wasn't too busy, I would be allowed on there for free (being a Pokemon has its perks) and gaze out the window, watching the various views speed past me. Not only did I see the various tall buildings whizz past past and the differently shaped Pokemon that roamed outside with their trainers, I also saw the sea in the distance, which shone in the sun. It filled me with a sense of calm, even in the urban chaos. The view even made up for the rocky nature of the trams, as it often felt like a rug was being pulled out from underneath my paws. It took a few minutes before I hopped off to my destination: Sunyshore Market.

As with any place, it seemed, there was an abundance of trainers there, but with Sunyshore in particular, it made a lot through the Seal and Ribbon shops. I can't say I saw much point in it, but it was none of my business in the end. Let the humans decorate their Pokeballs if they really want to. I worked through each item in the list, filling up my basket with a variety of goods, until I spotted that presence again. It was right in the middle of the food court, not too far away. I knew I was going on a detour, but I needed answers, just to clear my mind for the rest of the day. I walked along the hot sunny pavement, following my nose where the sweet and savoury smells were until I got to the source. In that court was a whole maze of food stalls, cooking meats over open fires. Both humans and Pokemon helped each other in the shift, as they either helped them dish up the plates or even had a paw in the cooking process. It would've been a usual scene in the Market, except for that presence. That strangely familiar presence.

I'm still having trouble wrapping my thoughts around our first meeting in a long time, but I'll try my best.

The presence belonged to a Lucario. Not just any Lucario like myself; one with a satchel around their waist, and a bandaged arm. They were surrounded by a few trainers and angry looking Pokemon that snarled at them. I couldn't hear what they said without my aura, so I walked further in. Getting closer, I saw the Lucario carried another paper bag, which presumably had many different foodstuffs in there.

"Give that back!" one of the vendors said, "Do you know how much trouble you're in?"

 _"Yeah,"_ the Lucario responded, in human tongue, of all things, and in a feminine voice as well. _"What about me, huh? Can't you spare a skewer for a poor hungry Lucario?"_

"That's not the problem!" another vendor said with his Magmortar fuming by his side. "You've been taking stuff from many different stalls! You do realise how bad that is for business, right?"

 _"Tho?"_ She chomped on one of the Torchic skewers, and spoke while chewing loudly. _"Whath am I thuppothed to do?"_ She swallowed. _"It's not like I can get a job like you guys, so why should you care?"_

"It's just not right." One Vaporeon stepped forward, speaking in their own tongue. "There are other ways of finding food here, even if you're a stray."

 _"You callin' me a stray?"_ she said, snorting. _"Piss off."_

In response, the Vaporeon spewed a jet of water in her direction, which she dodged. In turn, she charged up an aura sphere in her paws. At that point, I felt the aura of those all around her. They were sympathetic, but they still had to make back the earnings they lost. It was like if we gave our own dojo services for free; we wouldn't have been able to keep a roof over our heads. While it was none of my business, it reflected badly on my kind, so I had to step in.

"Miss," I said, "Return what you stole, or you'll have to face me."

"You wanna go, huh?" she said as she turned around. "Fine! I'll kick your _a-_ "

As soon as we faced each other up close, I recognised those green eyes, which widened, and in turn, I knew she recognised me. She was my sister.

I didn't know how to process it at first. What was she doing there in Sunyshore, and why did she have that bandaged arm? I wanted to say something, but my jaw hung open, unable to find the right words. She ended up doing the talking for me.

"Bro?" she said. I nodded. At that moment, time stood still. If I had to capture any memory and put it in a capsule to look at over and over again, it would've been the first time I laid eyes on my sister in 8 or so years. It was only a brief moment, since one of the vendors coughed nervously.

"What's going on?" they said. That snapped me back to reality. Remembering that my sister was still in trouble, I quickly drew out the savings purse and grabbed a pawful of bills.

 _"Excuse me,"_ I said, bowing to the vendors. _"Sorry for the trouble, but I want to put this behind us. How much does she owe you?"_

"A few hundred from mine," one said.

"A grand!" another said.

"Um," one Aipom said, counting from his tail-hand, "What are two buns worth?"

I sighed and sorted through my own change. I had 3000 Pokedollars left from shopping. Hopefully, that would've been enough to cover the costs. I handed each of the vendors a 1000PD bill just to be safe.

 _"Please,"_ I said, _"I hope this should fix things between you and her."_

They put the bills back in their pockets and gave a brief nod before going back to their own stalls. Their Pokemon stared at her for a bit before going back with their trainers. At last, the scene was clear, and it was just us two now. Sis rubbed her bandaged shoulder, clearly looking a little guilty. I smiled, though. She didn't need lecturing from me, of all Pokemon.

"Sis," I said. I was about to ask how she was doing, but they came out as half-formed words before I stopped. She laughed nervously.

"Well, crap," she said, "This is really awkward." Another snicker. "What do I say to all of this?"

I couldn't help but join in her amusement. "I can't say I was expecting to meet you like this. I thought it would've been a bit more, I don't know."

She snorted. "Did you expect a tearful reunion or somethin'?"

"No, just..." I trailed off. I looked around, trying to find anywhere we could soak it all in without causing a scene. There was an unoccupied table with two opposite seats.

"Why don't we sit down?"

She nodded, and there we sat, while she took another skewer out of her bag.

"Um," I started. I wasn't usually so slow to speak, I swear. But there was still something I had to get out of the way first. "Do you mind explaining what happened back there?"

"Shure," she said mid-bite. "This is kinda embarrassing. I usually get away with this sort of stuff, since it's easy to slip away if you use your aura."

"So you've stolen before?"

"Lots of times. Like I said, I usually don't get caught, but I must've let my guard down this time." She finished the last of her skewer, then tossed the stick away and frowned. "Sorry you hadda bail me out, bro."

"That's fine. I can't say we've never been at fault before."

"We've?" She raised an eye. "Does that mean the gang's here too?"

"Yes. We've settled near the city." My heart sank a little. On the day we left the island, we knew it would've been tough on her, but we had little choice in the matter. Sympathetically, I placed my paw on hers. "I'm so sorry we left. I really can't stress that enough."

"Stop that, bro." She pulled her paw away. "I knew you couldn't have stayed there, not that you really wanted to."

"Still!" I stood up, raising my voice. A wave of sadness washed over me in that moment. "We should've done more to help you! And after all this, you're stealing in the streets!"

She pounced on me, and wrapped her arms around my back. That bandaged arm felt alien, to say at the least. Still, after all of that distance, it was comforting to have her back.

"It's fine, bro," she said. "It was outta your control, so don't be such a drama queen."

"I know." I squeezed her tightly. "I'm just glad to know you're safe, even if you're not in one piece."

She pulled away and pointed at her face. "Hey, at least I've got a kickass battle scar to show for it."

I snorted, not even sure if I should laugh at that. "You seem quite easy-going about it."

"Well, I'm alive, anyway." She grabbed the bag. "Say, why don't you take me to where your place is? I'd love to see how they're doin'."

"No," I said. "I was going to tell you to leave Sunyshore and never come back."

She squinted at me for a bit, before patting my shoulder. "Bro, you kinda suck at sarcasm."

"I know." I shrugged. Then, my stomach rumbled. I hadn't had a lunchtime snack yet, curse my fast metabolism. "If you want to make it up to me for what happened earlier, you could spare me one of those steamed buns."

"Fine." She tossed one over to me. From there, we walked through the market centre, going out of the food court and weaving in between all the other stalls. She told me a few bits and pieces about how she ended up in Sunyshore from travelling on the bus for days, and also explained how she had Sunyshore on her Sinnoh bucket list for a while. I mostly listened to her as I sampled that bun. It felt soft and fluffy in my paw, and the taste was even better, with some sort of red bean paste in it. She still had two of those Miltank skewers on standby.

"You seem quite well travelled," I said.

"Tell me about it. You could never pin me down to one place, after all."

Thoughts of her leaving the island for that learning centre were at the back of my mind. I wanted to ask her all about it, but I could tell this wasn't the right moment for it, so instead, I asked her about some of the places she visited, which she rattled off, one by one, She mentioned a recent expedition to Snowpoint City, which caught my attention.

"Is it still snowy up there? I couldn't imagine it during the summer."

"Eh," she said, digging into a skewer. "Kind of? It was like, what, one or two months ago I went? They had groups just for hiking and camping up there, and I managed to sneak into one of them, so it was a fun time for all of us. I drank a lot of cocoa there, the trainers and their Pokemon told me all sorts of good stories, it was just nice, y'know." She shook her head rapidly, making a brring sound. "Colder than a Jynx's _tit_ , though."

I choked on my bun, patting the top of my chest to make it go down. "Where'd you pick up that phrase?"

"It was tossed 'round a lot by the humans, so it kinda grew on me. I could go on all day about the weird stuff I got from them."

"I'd love to hear it all at some point." I grinned like an idiot. "I'm so glad you're getting on well by yourself though, aside from, you know."

"Yeah, well." She shrugged and took another bite. "I do try."

She continued talking about that while I just listened. I don't recall all the details. There might've been something about riding a Mamoswine or going Houndoom sledding or whatever other adventures she went on, but it was nice all the same. Even though I couldn't feel her aura, from how passionate she sounded about it, I could tell she had found her place in the world, somewhat. That was how I imagined her all that time, and there she was, in the flesh, living in the moment. I couldn't have been a happier Mon that day.

I won't bother with writing about the tram ride, so I'll skip to the part where we got home. The walk up the hill usually took quite a bit of time, but we didn't have to stop to catch our breath. I actually found myself having to catch up with her. Maybe I was getting out of practise with hiking. But once we reached the dojo, her jaw dropped.

"Woah, awesome," she said. "How'd you end up in a place like that?"

I chuckled. "It's a long story. But we should go in. I can't wait to see how they'll react."

As if to answer my call, the sliding doors opened, revealing the whole family. Stumpy stared, broom in paw. His aura revealed excitement, but still quite a bit of nervousness. Twig gazed, nonplussed about the whole thing. His aura didn't reflect that much of an emotional response. Mom, however, ran outside and inspected Sis, close enough that she could get a good look at her face, and once it finally hit, she hugged her as she cried tears of joy.

"My girl," she said in between sobs, "I've missed you so much."

"And you, mama." Sis started sniffling. "Wow, now you got me chokin' up as well."

"Sorry. I can't help it." She pulled herself away and reached to grasp her paw, but stopped when she noticed the bandaged arm.

"What in the world happened to that?"

"It's fine," Sis said without so much batting an eye. "I just have it for show. It looks cool, don't you think?"

"Um..." Mom trailed off, glancing over to me before taking Sis' other paw. "Anyway, please, come in!"

And so, they walked in, paw by paw, as I followed. Sis marvelled at the insides, which were wide and spacious. Cavi was still in the middle of teaching, and the presence of another Lucario there brought the attention of all the students to Sis.

"Woah," one Riolu said, eyes gleaming. "She replacin' you, teach?"

"Well," I said, flustered. "No, I-"

"Yeah, totally," Sis said, flashing a toothy grin. "If he gets too borin' for ya, give me a shout!"

Some of the students turned towards her with curiosity.

"She seems a lot more fun!" one Chimchar said,

"Yeah!" an Eevee said. "Give us the coolcario!"

"Coolcario!" another said. "Coolcario!"

"Alright," I said, grabbing Sis's paw. "Let's not get carried away." We passed by them and went into the annex along with the rest, where Sis sat in the living room. Mom was in the middle of preparing tea, while we were alone with Stumpy and Twig. Sis gazed at them, undoubtedly fascinated. She hadn't seen them since they were Riolu, after all.

"My, you lot have grown!" she said. "I never woulda imagined you evolvin' into Lucario!"

Stumpy mumbled, unsure of how to respond.

"What?" Curio pointed at herself. "It's not my face is it? Do I need to put a paper bag over it?"

Stumpy stifled a laugh, while Twig still seemed unaffected by the whole thing. And surely enough, it wasn't long before Stumpy started sniffling, rubbing his eyes.

"S-s-sorry," he said, "I, I'm a Lucario now, I s-shouldn't act like this."

"Oh, knock it off." Curio leaned over to hug him, and he embraced her, crying over her shoulder. "Whoever's tellin' you that is givin' you nonsense. Besides, you've got a good excuse."

"Yeah," he mumbled. "It's just nice to see you, Sis. It was lonely without you, even with everyone else."

"Well, I'm here for a bit, so we've got plenty to catch up with." She patted him on the back and pulled away. "Now, turn that frown upside down."

Of course, that cheered up Stumpy a bit. Twig, still, wouldn't be swayed. Before I could ask him about it, Mom came back with teacups for all of us. Sis sipped with delight, and basically told them what she was doing there.

"Oh, you travel, huh?" Mom said, rubbing her paws enthusiastically. "Wonderful! I always pictured you going out there, seeing the world!"

She rubbed her head sheepishly. "Heh, you know me too well."

"In any case, make yourself at home!" Mom turned to me, expecting a full bag of groceries, only to see half of what I promised. "Where's the rest?"

"Ahem." I cleared my throat, signalling to Sis that she had to confess her stint from earlier. So she did, and while Stumpy seemed worried about it, and Twig didn't seem to care either way, Mom laughed.

"So you're making trouble already here?" she said, "Well, it'd be rich of me to tell you off for it. I've done it more times than I can count."

"Really?" That got Sis' attention. "Shocker. I never pegged you as a sort of role model, ma."

"I mean, you don't hang around the city as a stray for a bit without picking up a few tricks, huh?" She saw Sis frown a bit at that, and tapped her paw on the table to reassure her. "Not saying you're a stray. You seem like a very smart girl."

Sis crossed her arms, pouting. "I'm not a girl anymore."

"Fine then. A very smart young, um, womon? That's not a word, is it?" She turned to me to double check, and I just shrugged. I wasn't going to shove a dictionary in their faces, after all.

Mom downed the rest of the tea, and her face turned a bit more serious. "That's fine if you don't get caught, or are on your own. But if you're staying with us, you shouldn't leave a paper trail. We want to keep the dojo's good image, after all."

"Yeah, I know." Sis tugged at her aura sensors. "But I'm a Pokemon. I just can't settle like you or the humans can."

"Nonsense," I said, clenching my fists. For some reason, I got a little annoyed at that, but I kept my cool and thought back to that situation earlier. "I know you're a great human speaker. Of all the time you've spent in the cities, haven't you thought of teaching that once?"

"Of course I have." She sipped nervously. "It's never really appealed to me though. I just hate the sound of working to earn my keep when I can just steal what I want. I don't even need a home; I just go to parks and settle down in a sleeping bag or a tent or somethin'."

I growled. At that point, I was starting to get frustrated. I could see her point, but at the same time, it didn't suit someone like her. A Pokemon of her intelligence didn't deserve something like that. I was about to say something, then I glanced at Twig, who stared off into the distance.

"Twig," I said with a glare. "Aren't you going to say hello? You don't seem very happy to have her around."

Out of nowhere, he bashed his fists on the table and stormed off out of the kitchen. We just stared, dumbfounded.

"What's got his blue knickers in a twist?" Sis said.

"Oh, nothing dear," Mom said, stroking her head. "He's just mopey in general."

I sighed and honed in on his aura from the bedroom. He was in there, sulking as he listened to his music player. He was angry, confused, and saddened all at the same time. Why exactly, I couldn't tell right away, but I knew it was tearing him apart from the inside. I reasoned I brought it up too suddenly, and took a few deep of breaths. His own frustration bounced off of me, but I wasn't going to let it get to my head. Just like any young Mon, I had to get down to his level, apologise, and try to reach out to him. I wasn't going to repeat the same mistakes Dad did.

"Sis?" I said. I remembered I brought up Twig's name, but I didn't know if we were all on the same wavelength. "Do you have a name?"

"Curio," she said with a smile.

"Trunks." I smiled back. The name Curio really seemed to suit her, and Mom must've felt it too, since her aura brightened up a bit as well.

"Can you come and help me with Twig? I think he owes us an explanation."

Curio nodded and went with me to the bedroom. There Twig was, underneath all those blankets, as usual. It was his comfort zone whenever he got into one of those moods. He probably wouldn't hear us through those speakers, so a gentle approach was the best,

Although I couldn't read Curio's aura, judging from the confident look on her face, she understood what was going on. Without needing to ask, she sat down next to the bed and put a paw on that duvet pile, rubbing it. After a while, the music stopped playing.

"You're touchin' my butt."

" _Shit_ , sorry."

I put a paw up to my mouth, surprised at her sudden language. I guessed it was another thing she picked up from the humans. In any case, Curio laid her head next to the mattress, looking like she was about to fall asleep herself. Finally, Twig's head popped out from under the covers, and he stared at Curio, as if for the first time. Then, it hit me. He had only known her for a year at most, and during an early age. Of course, there was going to be a bit of distance between them.

"I guess it feels weird, huh?" she said. "I kinda feel the same way as well. Last time I saw you, you were only fresh out the egg, so it's like lookin' at you for the first time too."

He grumbled. "Your aura's weird."

"Maybe. But I'm still that buttmunch you knew years ago. You know, the one that got Trunks royally plastered?"

"Sis," I said, stifling a laugh. "I don't think you needed to open up that old wound."

That finally got through to Twig, as he laughed as well. Then, he turned away from Sis, facing the wall.

"Sorry, Curio," he said. "I just don't feel anythin' when I look at you. It was too long ago. But I know I should. It's like sayin' you're a complete stranger. Am I a bad Mon for feelin' that?"

Curio rubbed her temple, probably just as conflicted as I was at that moment. "Look, Twiggy, it's more normal than you think. Even when I met Trunks back in that food court, it took some getting used to. But I'm here now, so, why don't we get to know each other more now I'm back?"

That seemed to get through to him. Twig turned back round and frowned. At that point, I thought I'd join Curio, and rubbed his head.

"I'm sorry for bringing that up so suddenly," I said. "I should've known."

"Yeah." Twig sat up, then, hugged us both. "I'm sorry too." He pulled away, and his face lit up. Finally, he got out of bed and rummaged through a drawer before he pulled out another one of his board games; one of those card games where the player had to pick the worst sounding phrases out of the draw and come up with the funniest responses for all of them. "Ever since I learned to read, the Mon in the city got me to play this, and it's been my favourite ever since. Humans come up with some weird _shit_ sometimes."

"Language," I scolded.

"What?! Curio swore!"

"Both of you, language."

Curio laughed at that before brushing it off. "Sorry, I'll try gettin' it outta my system. But that sounds like fun, Twiggy. Can't wait to play it."

"We'll do that after dinner then." I patted both of them on the shoulder. "So maybe we should get started."

After that, the rest of the day went smoothly. Cavi returned from his shift and was surprised at first to see another member of the family come back, but he warmed up to Sis quickly. While me, Mom and Cavi hunted, from what Curio told me, she kept the younger brothers entertained and showed them all sorts of knickknacks she picked up from her travels. Bits and pieces like skyscraper figures from Jubilife and a snowglobe from Snowpoint. To this day, I still don't know how the humans came up with that technology, or just how much was in Sis' bag at that time, but in any case, we came back, cooked dinner, which Sis gobbled up quickly, and played that card game, which got all of us to laugh at least once. I think Sis ended up winning with the best card choices. After that, I noticed Twig looked at her in a new light and aura, able to reconnect with her after so long. I think he just appreciated having someone who matched his youthful energy.

It turned dark, and so, for lack of a better place for her to go, I offered Sis my bed. She was a bit reluctant to do so at first, but I assured her it would be fine, so that was the end of that. As for me, I meditated out in the garden while the rest presumably fell asleep judging from their auras. That presence was still there, though. I would've fallen asleep out in the open, but to my surprise, Curio's opaque aura walked out of the dojo and joined me. My eyes were still closed, but I wanted to let her come up to me herself.

"Boo," she said.

"You can't surprise a Lucario, even if they're your own kind," I said, opening my eyes. I got a punch in the arm for that.

"Shaddup," she said, and we laughed it off. Then, Curio tugged at my shoulder. "Hate to bring this up out of the blue, but Dad ain't here."

"No, I'm afraid not."

"He screwed off somewhere else then, didn't he?"

I immediately turned around to look her in the eyes. They looked calm on the surface, but deep down, I knew they hid a lot of anger as they twitched. I didn't want her to come back to that, but I might as well have told her the truth.

"Liam, um, I mean, Dad, wasn't very emotionally stable once you left the island. It wasn't your fault, I promise."

I told her the rest of the details, stuff I don't care to recall, but remember vividly nonetheless. The wailing. The massive surges of guilt that radiated from him. The suicidal threats. The wordless goodbye over night. The more I told her, the more rapid Sis' breaths were, and when I finished, she ran and punched a crater in a nearby tree with her bandaged paw. I sat as still as stone, trying to process how she was capable of doing such a thing. She shouted and cursed in all sorts of sickening human words, not caring who heard her. My belly started churning through the violent power of her voice alone. The rest of the family didn't stir from this; the only other thing that answered her was the frightened calls of the flying types who were startled out of their nests.

In that moment, a part of her aura cleared up, showing intense feelings of resentment and betrayal.

"He," Curio said in between gasps of air, "He said. He would. Be strong. For me." She pounded the ground beneath her, sending clumps of mud flying everywhere. " _Fucking_ liar."

That human swear still cut deep, even though it wasn't directed at me. Still, I felt her anger. I felt the same when I first struggled through his departure. Her fresh reaction picked at that old scab.

Curio took a few more deep breaths before gathering herself. Her aura was no longer clear, but its usual impenetrable self. "So, after he left you up _shit's_ creek, what happened?"

I sighed, remembering the times we lived on the streets and tried to find any work or training duties that put us out of the stray-filled streets at night. "Long story, but whatever happened was hard. But I pushed through it in the end, for all of us, and got to where I am now." I held her paw. "Everyone else helped as well, especially Mom. She fought for us as much as I did."

"So you became the new Dad." She squeezed my palm. "What a life, right?"

"For better or for worse." I pulled it away and patted her head. "But I'm over it now, so don't you worry about it. I landed on my feet here."

She sighed, looking to the distance. "If ya say so."

"Truth be told, if it wasn't for you going to that learning centre, you wouldn't have inspired me to do better."

Her eyes widened at the mention of it. I didn't mean to pry, but I felt it was time to ask.

"If you don't mind, Curio, can I-"

"N-no." She shook her head rapidly, tugging on her remaining aura sensors. "Not now, bro. I can't. L-leave it for another time, please."

Her voice was shaky, and from there, I knew I had to stop. The timing had to be right, after all, so I dropped it. A moment of silence passed. Curio breathed in and out, calming herself, before she asked me this:

"Bro, you know you were talkin' about teachin' other Pokemon the human tongue. Do you really think I should start doin' that?"

I nodded. "Without question. I think doing that will open up more doors than you might think."

"Yeah, I kind of get sick of stealin' after a while. It just doesn't feel earned. Plus, I guess it would be nice just to chat. I could do that for ages."

"Then you'll probably love this."

"But where do I start, y'know? I can't just go up to any rando and ask 'hey, wanna spend hours just trying to say hello in human?'"

"I never said it was easy. You'll need to prove you're a good teacher, so you need to keep up good impressions around here. Once you get it though, you might never have to steal anything ever again. How does that sound?"

She paused, deep in thought, before she lied down on the grassy floor and groaned.

"Ugh, fine, you win. You and your dumb responsibilities, hmph."

"Good. We'll start looking tomorrow. But for now, let's just enjoy our own company." I winked at her. "You're still a part of our family, after all."

She smiled and clutched at my waist. "Thanks, bro."


	26. Interlude - Ambrette's Flyers

The next morning, the two returned home a few minutes before the package was due. When it came time, there was a banging at the door. Several bangs, in fact. Curio went to see who it was, and true to Tony's word, there was a Delibird, dressed in his flight gear with a backpack presumably containing the package. He was about as thin as a rake, but clearly well groomed, if his well preened feathers were of any indication.

"Morning! Deli, reporting for duty! I've got a lens and a tripod here for Tony?"

"I'm his Pokemon, yes."

"Great! Can either one of you sign for me?"

"I can," Curio said, snatching a marker off the Delibird's flippers.

"Cool!" He dug into his bag to retrieve the parcels.

"Ain't it kind of hot for Pokemon like you to be out here?"

"Nope, not in the slightest! I've been doing this for a few months now, so I've gotten used to it." He patted at his slim belly. "Believe it or not, I used to weigh a ton! I was a huge coach potato until I got back into this job."

"Good to hear, I guess?"

Deli retrieved both packages and made Curio scribble over a form with the marker. As Shine watched, he remembered hearing Accendare was part of the Postmon service as well.

"Mister Deli," Shine said, "I don't suppose you've met a Dragonite called Accendare, have you?"

"I have indeed!" he said, taking back the slip, "She came a few months while I was still burning off all that fat. She's a bit quiet, but she's still nice."

"So, have you noticed something off about her lately?"

"I dunno, I haven't seen her for a while. But anyway." Deli fastened the bag, and gave the two one last glance before perching onto the railing. "Thanks a lot!"

Curio waved him goodbye as he beat his wings and glided into the air, where he flapped and weaved graciously towards the horizon. With that out of the way, the two were left to their own devices, leaning over the railing to gaze at the morning sky. The view was always pleasant to look at, with the sun just barely kissing the horizon, creating an orange glow that cast itself onto the coastal town's equally colourful stone buildings, filling, Shine's heart with a rare sense of calm. Sure, the town was pretty throughout the day in general, as southern Kalos usually got both the best of the weather, but seeing this reminded him of why Ambrette was the best place for him to live with a trainer. In that time to reflect, Shine remembered what day it was.

"Huh," Shine said, "It's Friday."

"Yeah, so?"

He remembered mentioning the Dragonite, and then thought back to the last lesson at the dragon ranch. Yesterday was supposed to be a day off, and he was still in debt to Adele in the end. When this realization hit him, Shine's fur pricked up at his spine.

"Oh, no!" he yelled, "We're gonna be late!"

"For what?" Curio asked. In response, Shine pounced on her and pawed at her desperately.

"We have to go to the ranch again and I was supposed to prepare for the lesson but I haven't done anything and I completely forgot about it and Petri's going to be disappointed and Adele's going to turn my _ass_ into grass and-"

"Shine, stop!" Curio patted her hand on Shine's back, which jolted him out of his panic. "You're goin' too fast! It'll be fine, I haven't prepared either."

"But-"

"No buts, or any butts for that matter. We'll just wing it today, alright?"

"There has to be more than that, though! Our lessons need to have structure, we need to plan ahead this time if we want them to do well!"

"Yeah, I understand, but listen. You can throw a fit about it all you want, but it won't do any good to worry. We've had our paws full with this interview, so of course, we forgot. Like I said, we'll come up with something on the way, alright?"

Shine sighed. As much as his mind raced with all the sorts of topics he'd have to go through in his next lesson, he needed rest. Curio still looked as cool as a cucumber, even though a part of her body was mutilated. He could've thrown her boulder at her and she would've brushed it off like it was a thin sheet of paper. He wouldn't put it past her if that had happened before.

"Alright, I'll calm down, for now." Shine chuckled, though not because of any joke he told himself in his head. "I don't get it. I wish I could be as calm as collected as you are half the time."

"Really?" Curio pointed to herself. "I don't think I do much different to a lot of people, but thanks. Anyway, if Adele really would turn your ass to grass, we should probably get moving."

Shine nodded. They left the package at the flat and made their way through the path to the ranch, where the sun barely peered in through the arches of trees above them. Then, there was that familiar flutter of wings Shine knew too well, and then, Bauble tugged at his mane of fur.

"Ah, h-hey!" he yelped. "No need to be so rough!"

"That's me bein' gentle, ya know." Bauble fluttered and stood herself up in front of Shine. "What ya goin' to the barn place for anyhow? You know I ain't allowed there."

"Yes, I'm afraid not," he said with a sigh, "But I have business there."

"Oh, sounds important!" Bauble fanned at her face with a wing, posing like an elegant Oricorio. "Not too important for me, is it?"

"Well, we're late, so we need to get there now." Shine started walking, but Bauble hopped backwards as he advanced.

"Don't you have time for me anymore? Can you make some soon, ple-"

"No," he said quietly, but firmly. "Later."

Bauble leered at him before letting out one final squawk and flying away.

"Ouch," Curio said, picking at her ears with a bone swab. "I kind of felt that from her."

"I'm sorry about that," he said, "I'll be sure to talk to her later, I don't want to leave her hanging."

"Eh, not my problem, it's your business."

And with that, the two advanced down the path until they were greeted with the sight of flapping wings, large, fire-breathing Pokemon and the familiar red barn that served as a nexus for all the goings-on there. They wandered down the path leading to the house, and on the way, they met Adele, the dragon-riding mastermind behind the operations there, clutching an egg. She smiled at the sight of them.

"Oh, hi there!" she said, "How're you two doin'?"

 _"Fine, ma'am,"_ Shine said, _"Sorry I'm late."_

"Hmm." She glanced at the sun. "Yeah, I guess you are an hour late. As long as it ain't a habit, I'll let it slide."

" _Thanks. So I take it we have a full day today?"_

"Yup! Feel free to take an hour break in between, and for dinner if you're still up for it tonight. I've got a new accordion, so I'd love you to come and listen later."

 _"I'm sure we'll enjoy it."_

"Good!" Adele stroked the egg with her gloved hand. "Petri's just by the bog again, but for now, I gotta take this to the incubator, so I'll see you two later."

The two nodded before Adele headed off to do her own business, and they made their way through the spacious field all the way to where the Goodra nestled in the slimy pit. He waved a goo-coated paw at them as they approached.

"Hey, Mr. Shine and Ms. Curio!" he said, "What're we up to today?"

The duo glanced at each other, trying to find the words to deflect their laziness on the matter, but they gave up and sighed.

"Honestly," Shine said, "We didn't think on it that much, but I'm sure we'll come up with something since there's plenty of time."

"Alright then." Petri rose out of the muddy water and shook his body, sending flecks of slime flying everywhere. Some of it stuck to Shine's coat, which had only been cleaned two days ago. "Lead the way!"

The Luxray ignored the fact a whole bath had just been wasted, and led Petri to their usual spot where they sat in a circle in an open patch of grass undisturbed from the rest of the dragons. Shine reminisced on some of the bits and pieces of their facility days from Curio's interview, and remembered how they improved their craft by learning to read and speak the various passages in their exercise sheets. As far as Shine knew, Petri wasn't taught any of that, if his basic lessons were of any indication.

"Well Petri," he said, "How is your speaking going?"

"Kind of the same, really." The Goodra frowned. "My other teacher hasn't come back since, and Adele's been trying to chase after him to ask what's going on. But yeah, I'm no quicker at talking than I was days ago. You guys make it seem so easy."

"I mean, yeah," Curio said, pointing to herself with false modesty, "We're pretty awesome now, but I kind of sucked at it too."

"But anyway," Shine said, "Would it be helpful to you to practice reading out something?"

"Reading?" He cocked his head. "Nah, I can't read to save my life. He never went into that either."

"Wow," Curio said, digging into her bag, "He does suck. Sorry, but Adele got a really bum deal on picking someone to teach you human."

"It seems that way, but she couldn't find anyone else. She said it took her days to look for someone in the papers, which again, I can't read."

"It would've only taken her a few hours to make a deal with someone online, through a computer," Shine said. "There are quite a few of us in Ambrette that speak that can be found there. so why didn't she do that?"

"Beats me." Petri shrugged. "I haven't used a computer once, or any device at all. I licked a TV once, but that didn't taste nice."

"Ew." Curio stood up and reached, both arms in, to the wide space within her bag, which laid on the floor. She groaned and grunted, planting her feet firmly on the floor, as if she was engaged in some invisible tug of war, until the bag expanded to three times its size. With great force, Curio eventually pulled a wheelie whiteboard out the size of a wide-screen TV, and once it was out there in the physical world, the bag shrank to its original size.

She wiped the sweat off her furry head before retrieving a few markers from her cave of curiosities, and wrote out a title at the top of the board labelled 'Curio and Shine's Kickass Reading Lesson!', with little doodles of her and the Luxray's face at the edge of the board. She turned to the two, who shared a look of perplexity. Shine himself wondered how she even came across that in the first place, before remembering he was still there to teach. He joined Curio not long after, instructing her to write out the alphabet in order. Like Azzy did in their first year, they pronounced all the sounds with the corresponding letters and made Petri repeat it.

"You two." Petri held his slimy paw up. "I'm not sure I see what the point of this is. I thought you'd just teach me to speak, although I do appreciate learning something else."

"I understand that," Shine said, "But the point is understanding which sounds go into each letters, so you can understand how words are structured, then how sentences are constructed. You don't need to learn everything, but you just need to remember these two go paw in paw with each other. Since you want to speak faster, however, we'll work on that. Wipe it away, please."

"Sure, sir," she said with a toothy grin. "Would you like me to wipe your _ass_ for you too?"

"Just do it, please."

"I know, just yankin' your tail."

From there, they volleyed back and forth in human, working through some of Petri's other problem areas, like connecting syllables together, and in a matter of hours, he spoke more clearly and quickly than before. Their session only blossomed from there, so much so that when the scruffy-haired apprentice came huffing and puffing through the field and collapsing in their space, it came as a surprise to all three of them. Shine was the first to check on him.

 _"Are you alright?"_ he said. Through his exasperated breaths, the boy gave him a thumbs up, and they allowed him to catch his breath before he sat up, glugging down half a bottle of water.

 _"Did your boss make you run across the field again?"_

"Yeah," he said in between breaths. "I misplaced some of the picking tools."

 _"Sounds like she puts you through a lot of crap,"_ Curio said, sitting down opposite him. _"Why'd you deal with it?"_

"Eh, it's no problem. I give her a lot of crap too, but Adele's the best, seriously." He poured the last of the water down his forehead and let it drip. "Oh!" His eyes widened and he outstretched his hand to each of them. "Sorry, manners. I'm Jean."

" _Jean!"_ Petri repeated.

Shine and Curio said their names and returned the handshake. Jean looked to Curio's metal arm with a hint of surprise, but said nothing. Instead, he turned to Petri.

"Do you want me to hang out with you for a bit?" Jean said.

Petri cocked his head. _"Are-nt you being pun-ished?"_

"Yeah, well, the missus would want me to be with you anyway. If I'm workin' with the dragons and all, might as well get to know em', right?"

He patted his belly, to which, Petri giggled with delight. So he relaxed and propped his head up on Petri's stomach, which looked like a huge pillow, letting himself sink into it. Shine found the image oddly amusing. The apprentice looked so content as well, staring up at the sky while Petri occasionally peered in, covering his face in shadow. The only thing he didn't quite anticipate was the slime dripping down on his head, and he shivered a little.

" _Sorry,"_ Petri said, _"I try to control it."_

"Nah, nah, it's, er, fine I guess." Jean looked as if he tried to choose his words carefully to avoid upsetting the goo-excreting dragon, then smiled and ran the slime through his mop of hair. "S-see? It's like shampoo!"

Petri and Curio giggled, while Shine snickered, still finding it a little gross.

 _"You seem_ _to get on well with him,_ _"_ Shine said.

"Yeah, I love these dragons, seriously. Miss always said I had a hunch for flyin' types, although there's a lot to learn."  
He thought back to that botched harness fitting. _"I can see."_

"But, well, I might have to get going in a few minutes, so how about you join me?"

Shine hesitated, as he didn't know much about Jean, and had a history with young trainer types before. He turned to Curio, about to ask if they wanted to go off on their own, but she already beat him to it, walking through the fields to rub shoulders with some of the dragon types. Ever the social Butterfree. And yet he was stuck with Jean.

"You don't have to if you don't wanna," he said. "You seem like you're on the shy side of things."

" _Oh,"_ was all Shine could say. He was quite perceptive. At that point, he couldn't refuse his offer, and so, sat opposite him. _"_ _What gave myself away?"_

"I dunno, just the air you had about you. I saw it in Accy as well. She's hard to warm up to."

Shine hummed in reply.

"Not that's a bad thing, mind. Some Pokemon, well, people are like that. But if I was in your fur, I'd feel the same way too, fightin' and all that."

He didn't know what to make of this, and decided to change the subject. _"So, Petri, do you feel like you've been learning a lot?"_

" _Yeah!"_ Petri squealed, _"You are good teachers!"_

"Good to hear." Jean patted his belly again and smiled. "It'd be great if I had something like this back in my training days." He spoke with the air of someone who had already reached their prime, even though he was still young enough to pass for a wide eyed trainer.

" _Do they not teach you to get Pokemon to speak in the academy then?"_ He already knew the answer, but wanted to hear Jean say it.

"Hardly. But never mind, that's in the past." Out of impulse, he reached his hand towards Shine, but he pulled back, warily looking at Jean.

" _Sorry. I shouldn't be acting like this. I just don't like being touched that much by, well, I'm not sure what the word for it is."_

"That's fine." Jean still had his hand raised. "I just wanna make sure we're on the same level, y'know? I feel like we'll be seein' each other more."

He looked at his hand again, and eventually, Shine relented and let him stroke his mane. While he didn't fully give himself into it like he did with Tony, that soft hand still felt nice against his rough fur. For the boy's age, he carried himself well, and because of that, Shine much preferred this quiet sort of moment as opposed to the shrieking toddlers from two nights before.

Something beeped, and slowly, Jean stood up, patting Petri on the belly again.

"Well, I gotta run. Missus wants me to see the new egg. Have fun, you two."

Petri waved him goodbye while Shine nodded, watching him disappear into the fields. In turn, Curio came along with a little patch of singed fur on one of her tufts.

"What happened?"

"Got a bit carried away with one of the Charizard. That'll teach me not to play with fire, I guess." She winked at Petri. "So, up for part two of our _kickass_ lesson?"

Petri nodded, and from there, the rest of the afternoon flew by fairly quickly. By then, it had turned cloudy, and not only was there a slight rumble in the sky, far away, there was commotion from an assortment of Dragonite. Shine turned to see saw a crowd of them gathering around something at the other side of the field, nearby the wall of trees. He looked to Curio, whose eyes were fixated on the middle of the scene. Then, she stood up.

"Wait, we've still got our lesson," Shine said.

"I know, but follow me," she said. "You might wanna see this."

She didn't stop to explain herself and ran into the open fray. Shine joined and tried to catch up, until they were side by side with each other again, heading towards the source of commotion. They were greeted with the backsides of various Dragonite and other dragon types, who formed a wall around something, though they didn't know what exactly. The dragon's tails swished through the air, as if entertained by something.

"What are we looking at?" Shine said.

"That Dragonite you taught," Curio said, "She's gettin' beat up pretty badly by one of the alphas."

Shine's jaw dropped, and he looked towards the scene, trying to pick out what was going on. He heard growls and cries through the other end, and with the help of his golden vision, filtered out the rest of the crowd to look at the two Dragonite in the middle. There was none other than Accendare, whose slim body was covered from head to paw in various bruises and cuts as they wept on the floor. On the right was one much taller and stockier than her, fists raised in preparation to strike. Shine vaguely remembered him from the day he first went to the ranch, as the smug looking Bally.

"Geddup!" he said, face contorted with malice, "I wanna see you fight me like the Dragonite you are!"

Accendare shivered, trying to prop herself up with her front paws, but stumbled and fell to the floor once more.

"Please," she croaked. "No more. I don't- I don't wanna fight. Just, let me-"

Bally leapt towards her and pulled her up by her elbows, only to throw a right hook to her face. She fell backwards onto another Dragonite, who pinned her up with his arms. A mixture of blood, saliva and tears flowed down her face.

"Wrong answer. Try again."

"E-eenough." Accendare struggled to talk, as her face grew more swollen.

He threw another hook, making a pounding sound like a mallet tenderising a slab of meat. Shine cringed at the sight of it.

"Bally, just stop it!" One female Dragonite called out, who Shine remembered as Lyra. "She hasn't done anything!"

"Shut up!" he spat. "All this mare does is whine and complain, and I'm sick of hearin' it! She doesn't fight for herself, she's scrawnier than scrawny, I don't think I've ever seen her eat! She's just weak!" Bally grabbed Accendare's bloodied face with both his meaty paws. "This'll be a good lesson for you, runt."

A part of Shine's memories came back to him. Specifically, he flashed back to those facility days when he was still a Shinx, when M was still around, and other memories Shine had repressed, but always served as a reminder for why his eye ended up the way it did. All those times he had to fight to prove himself. All those times he cried alone when no one was there to take his side during detention. All culminating in that moment where…

He shook his head. That was something he didn't want to deal with now. He just wanted it to stop. Step by step, he walked towards the horde, but his hindlegs wobbled with fear. What was he doing? He was going against a dragon, but why? He know why, but he was just a Luxray, a lion, and that Dragonite was a hulking mass of horsepower. Everything told him to stop, and yet, he kept walking.

"Hey, earth to Shine?" Curio said, "What are ya-"

"Hold on," Shine said, not turning back, "I want to help."

"Wait, hold up!" Curio reached towards him, trying to drag him back, but that only solidified his resolve. He sprang towards the horde, weaving through the those load-bearing tails, and squeezed in through the dragon crowd until he was in the fray, standing in front of the bawling Dragonite. He imagined himself as a father Luxray taking care of one of his frail cubs.

In turn, Bally towered above Shine and scowled at him, who undoubtedly looked microscopic when viewed from that level.

"Oh, you're here," he said, pounding a fist against the flat of his other paw. "Whaddya want?"

Shine felt his legs turn to lead. However, he swallowed and took a few steps forward anyway, confronting the behemoth.

"What do you think you're doing to her?" he spoke quietly, but firmly, like Tony often did whenever he put his foot down.

"Oh, nothing." Bally clasped his paws together. "Just teachin' this wimp somethin'."

"That's my student you're dealing with. I'm not having any of it while I'm here."

"Oh yeah?" He guffawed, and most of the other dragons joined him, save for Lyra. "What are you gonna do about it, talk at me to death? You'd probably make everyone here die of boredom anyway with your speaking lessons! Tell me, whaddo we need to speak like humans for anyway? We're not them, are we?"

"That's not the point." Shine planted his front paws firmly into the ground, charging up his field for an attack, but in truth, he was doing everything in his power to stop himself pouncing at the monster. He didn't want to lose his head before the main event, figuratively or literally. "Lay another claw on her and I'll make you regret it."

Bally glanced to his sides, and step by step, advanced towards Shine, leaving huge marks in the earth beneath him. A dark cloud started to form above them. If all went well, Shine would be able to send a warning without damaging anyone.

"You know, I'd really like to see you try. Let's see how that goes. When you make the first move, I'll make sure you know your place, bug." At that point, raindrops poured down on each of their heads, but Bally only grinned. "So you made it rain. Congrats, I guess. Sucks for you, because it's my turn now." He expanded his wings and started stepping back to wind up his attack.

Lighting struck from far away, making the sky around them flash with a brilliant light. Something crackled in the distance, and lo and behold, the biggest tree came crashing down towards the group. They all dispersed, flying in different directions. Shine made sure to dodge for the oncoming strike, from either Bally or the tree. It was chaos. Dragons cried in different pitches and shrieks, wings flapped haphazardly as far as the eye could see, and as the smouldering bark came crashing down with a thud on the ground, it threw everyone affected into a panic. The moment it happened, Shine instantly regretted it. He ran through the open space, hoping that Bally wasn't too far away, but soon enough, he no longer felt his feet touching the ground. He screamed when he realised what was happening as the world below him shrank. Shine was in the air, alone with the flying beast.

"Bad news, buddy!" Bally shouted, "Now you're gonna be food for the Fletchling!"

His grip on the Luxray's stomach released.

The world spun before Shine, turning completely upside down. He could no longer control his body. He felt cold. Then it hit him that he was in very grave danger. He would hit the ground, probably break all of his bones and send his guts flying everywhere. He couldn't die there. There was so much he had left to talk about, so much he wanted to experience, so many places he wanted to go with Curio and Tony and all the like. He needed to make up for lost time. All of his dreams and regrets came rushing back to him, much like how the wind rushed against him below.

That was, until he got caught again, and the world stood still once more. The whiplash, however, was enough to make him spew out the contents of his breakfast. Wings whipped past his head, which he recognised as belonging to another Dragonite, but he couldn't make out who, either because of his limited view or his nausea. Shine wouldn't know until they slowly lowered themselves onto the field and lightly dropped Shine down on the soft grass. He toppled on his side, and as he caught his breath, he tried to catch a glimpse of who saved him, but the image in front of him was out of focus. Someone spoke, but he couldn't make out what they said. In time, his vision gave out, and he fainted.

* * *

After the familiar hang ups of waking up from an unconscious spell, Shine found himself lying on a bed in a grey room, with a mix of the clinical smells of a Pokemon Centre with the pungency of a barn. He appeared to be in some sort of infirmary, probably where the dragons were being treated, with flashing machines and chambers fixed to the walls for some unknown purpose. In one side of the room, there was a lone Pokeball sitting inside a healing station, who he hoped was Accendare. In another, there was the green egg Adele had towed away in the morning, proudly displayed in the room with an orange glow. Aside from that, the room was otherwise dim.

Light entered the room as the door opened, and Curio, Adele and Jean walked in, each sharing a look of concern.

"Are you alright now?" Adele said, "Can you stand?"

Shine got to his feet and balanced himself on the mattress without much issue. That feeling of mid-flight sickness had long since subsided.

" _Um,"_ Shine said, feeling somewhat responsible for his own plight, " _What happened?"_

" _Basically,"_ Curio said, _"Everything went kinda crazy after you hit that tree, but Adele was there to wrangle everyone back here, I guess."_

Before he fainted, he remembered seeing two images in front of him, although he couldn't discern who they belonged to.

" _So, who saved me?"_

Adele punched Jean in the shoulder, making him flinch. "You have this guy to thank for that."

"Did you have to hit me, boss?" he said, rubbing his bruise. "But yeah, I didn't even think about getting the harness, I just got on Lyra's back and chased after that other Dragonite." He broke into a wide grin. "Didn't even have any flight experience, it was a bloody miracle!"

"That's what we call flyer's instinct, my boy. If today's anything to go by, you might just be a natural born rider!"

"Aw," Jean ruffled at his scruffy hair, "You're makin' me blush. Does this mean I can stop cleaning the latrines?"

"Well, we'll see. But for now, you two..." She patted both Jean and Curio on the back. "Why don't you two go outside for a minute so I can talk to Shine?"

While Jean obliged, Curio crossed her arms.

" _Why? He's my friend, I wanna talk to him first!"_

"I get that. But I need to discuss something with him in private."

" _Not much point."_ She pointed a metallic finger at herself. _"I'm a Lucario, remember? There's nothing stopping me from spyin' on your talk anyhow."_

"Yeah," Adele couldn't help but smile, "Didn't think of that. But can you just head outside to give us some space anyway? It's important."

" _Right, fine."_ Before Curio exited the room, she turned to Shine and made a slashing gesture with her own neck and pointed to the perspirating Luxray. When the door shut, it was just the two of them alone in that dark room with all the equipment pulsing in the background. Adele stood at the edge of the bed and propped her hands down on the rails. Her facial expression looked familiar to Shine, from around the time she first told Jean off when they first met.

"Shine, what were you thinking attacking Bally?"

Her tone of voice was calm, but that somehow made it even more foreboding for Shine.

" _Adele, miss, please,"_ he said, trying to maintain his composure, _"He attacked another Dragonite."_

"You attacked my prized Dragonite!" She punctuated this by bashing one of her hands on the metal bedframe. "If that tree crushed him, you'd be more than just millions in debt, you'd be put down. You should thank your lucky stars that no one was hurt."

" _He hurt Accy!"_ At that point, Shine pounced on the duvet, no longer hiding his contempt for Bally. _"He beat her senseless, and now she's being healed up here! Do you think I was just going to watch him go even further than that and kill her?"_

"He wouldn't have done that. Either me or someone else his size would've stepped in. You just went on your own accord."

" _But that still doesn't make it alright! You can't just let him get away with this!"_

"Which I'm not. He's being held in his Pokeball until he's calmed down a bit. We'll certainly do our best to punish him, but there's not much else we can do to stop the bullying after that. They are Pokemon of nature, after all."

 _"I'm a Pokemon, though!"_ He advanced closer to Adele, at level with her waist, and looked up at her. _"You say that as if they can't be reasoned with. After all this about teaching Petri to speak, you're talking about them as if they're mindless beasts! Oh god, not this again!"_

A stinging sensation flashed through Shine's head, and images of the facility came rushing back to him, of all the fights, of all the times they didn't intervene, about everything. The weight of his memories made Shine roll to his side in pain, like his head had just been smashed against a wall. Adele rushed to his side and rubbed his forehead. A moment passed, and after the pain subsided, Shine sat on his hindquarters and tears streamed down his cheeks. The dragon rancher knelt down opposite him and coursed her fingers through his mane.

"Hey there." She completely dropped the scolding tone from before in favour of something more soothing. "You're really taking this personally, aren't you?"

 _"Of course I am,"_ he said, sniffling, _"I-_ _I had my fair share of fights, and t-t-that was all well and good, but they didn't stop."_ He looked to the side. _"They didn't stop. And because of that, they left me with scars that will never heal."_

He blinked his one eye, and Adele covered her mouth with her gloved hand. She must've understood the gesture. _"If it wasn't for a certain friend, I would've died, and let me tell you from experience, if you do nothing to stop this from happening, it will escalate. You'll have Accy's blood on your hands."_

Adele sighed and joined Shine on the bed, wrapping an arm around him.

"I'm sorry to hear that. I can understand how scarring that must've been for you. I do care about Accy, you know. I care about every dragon on this ranch. And I know that you, and Bally, and most, if not all Pokemon, can be intelligent like us. You certainly are." Her grip tightened on the Luxray.

"But you have to understand, those dragons, especially Bally, they're huge, they're powerful, and the fact they know it is even more terrifying than if they weren't so smart. Most of them came from a wild background, you see. They pride themselves on that strength and wear it like a badge of honour. Accy was born here, and isn't very competitive, you see, and so, that makes her an easy target."

 _"I wasn't competitive either."_

"I get that. And I wanna make sure the same thing that happened to you won't happen to her. But she'll either she'll have to toughen herself up, or we'll have to double her training workload. She can't have Lyra stepping in to bail her out all the time; she goes through enough stress as it is."

Shine gave a deflated sigh and slumped to the bed. As much as he hated this whole situation, there was little point with arguing any longer. Adele was the boss of her own ranch, with limited time on her hands, and he was just a Luxray, a small, insignificant Pokemon in her debt. It wasn't his place to make suggestions on her behalf. And deep down, he knew she was right. If it wasn't for those trials and tribulations he went through, he wouldn't have found the strength to live on and fight for oneself, even if it was tough at times. When he put the past few hours into consideration, and Adele's own views of Bally together, he rose to his feet.

 _"Miss, how much is Bally worth, not just for rent?"_

"Well, from a list of potential clients, I'd say about, twelve million Pokedollars?"

 _"Twelve mil-"_ He cut himself off, and tensed his throat. _"Oh no, am I fired?"_

Adele burst into laughter, clutching her stomach. "Don't be silly! I'm not lettin' you go that easily! You've still got quite a few lessons ahead of you!"

 _"Good,"_ he said, breathing a sigh of relief. _"I've started enjoying the time spent with Petri."_

"Exactly what I wanna hear." Adele stood up and gestured to the door. "You're dismissed for now, so I'll see you on Sunday at noon, but Shine, one last warning. If you attack any of my dragons again, I'll send your ass flying off so high in the air, Arceus will be able to see you rise above the clouds before you fall to your death. Understood?"

 _"Yes, miss."_

"You can get dinner somewhere else for now. I'm fine with you coming some other time, but not today, okay?"

Shine nodded and leapt off the bed and stood on his hindpaws to pull open the infirmary door. Down there on a patch of grass, he saw Curio sitting with Jean, close to one another, which seemed a rare sight for him. Rather than step out and interrupt the conversation, he stood there and hoped Curio didn't hear it creak.

"...so, that's when Dad kicked me out," Jean said.

 _"Shit, man,"_ Curio said. _"That kinda sucks. I guess you had a pretty good idea of where you wanted to go, right?"_

"Nope. Didn't have a home for a few days, then, I just happened to hear about this place. Knew next to nothing about training dragons, either."

 _"So you pretty much landed on your feet then."_

"Kind of. I just hope after all this time, I made the right choice. Training would've been safer, I guess."

 _"Well."_ She put her paw on his lap. _"I'd like to think you did the right thing. You took that risk and it paid off. That's more than I can say for most, human or Pokemon, I'd say. I know you're listening, Shine."_

The Luxray let out a shrill cry as he headed out the door at last, to the bemusement of the two.

 _"Sorry,"_ he said, _"I didn't mean to be rude."_

 _"Well, I'm not one to talk, am I?"_ Curio flashed her signature toothy grin. _"I know Adele gave you a right bollocking, didn't she?"_

 _"B-_ _b_ _ollocking."_ Shine stumbled on those words. _"Is that your human word of the day?"_

 _"Well, it's a word."_ Curio rose to her feet and joined Shine. _"Jean, it's been nice speakin' to ya. We'll be coming back on Sunday, so we'll probably see you then."_

" _And thank you so much for saving me."_ Shine bowed. _"I'm in debt to two people now."_

"Ha, no sweat. Well, see ya." Jean waved at the two before they made their own way out of the ranch.

Shine and Curio trekked through the tree-shaded path leading out from the ranch. Despite the previous spurt of thunder, the sky was still clear, drenched in a red haze as it approached night, casting the two's shadowy faces in faint dots of dappled light. However darkened by shade, the look on the Lucario's face was more than welcoming to him as she smirked.

"You seem pleased," he said.

As if on queue, she chuckled and nudged Shine's side with her foot.

"You brave little idiot, I never would've expected you to take on a freakin' Dragonite."

"I didn't either. I just couldn't control myself though, not after seeing what he put Accy through."

"Couldn't blame ya, mate."

A moment passed in silence as they got closer to entering back into Ambrette. It was during that period that Shine remembered Curio had probably eavesdropped on the whole conversation with him and Adele, and so, he looked back at her, more serious this time.

"Don't you think it's wrong, though? Adele doesn't seem that bothered about stopping it from happening again."

"Yeah, I heard, and yeah, it sucks, but there's not a lot we can do to stop that either. No interfering, remember? I certainly don't wanna see your _ass_ punted into space."

"Then, what, are we just supposed to let it happen in front of us? You never would've done that with me years ago."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. But that was out of everyone's control."

"No, it wasn't." Shine stopped and kicked at the dirt. "They should've known what would happen. They should've reached out to him before it was too late."

"They made mistakes, sure, but hey, for now, we can at least help Accy out by talking to her, just so she knows we're there to listen. Or threaten that _douchey_ Dragonite. We'll deal with that next time though. For now-" She patted her stomach. "Let's get some grub at Tony's."

He took a deep breath, wanting to talk more about what happened, but there was still the interview to worry about. That would give him ample time to vent about GeL, at last, for the first time in ages.


	27. Finding (M)y Paws

Curio and Shine made the familiar journey through to Ambrette, where they watched the sun sink down and the last of the Postmon making their rounds to various places, until they arrived at Tony's apartment where they were greeted with the master of the house lounging on the couch, bare-chested.

" _Woah!"_ Curio said in mock surprise. _"Cover your shame, man!"_

Tony smirked as he shifted his body to leave some space for the two. "That's rich coming from someone that doesn't even wear clothes."

The two joined him, with Curio sitting on the opposite end and Shine sitting in the middle, sandwiched between them.

"Thanks for getting the delivery sorted," Tony said, "So how was it today?"

Shine opened his mouth to say he almost got killed protecting another Dragonite, but decided against it and swallowed his words. _"Same as before. Petri's making progress already."_

"Good to hear." His trainer coursed his hand through Shine's coat and twirled a particularly sticky strand of fur where the slime splattered. "And of course, it didn't take long for him to get familiar with you."

" _Oh, sorry."_

"It's not a big deal, I can always hose you down for a minute of two if need be. Speaking of which, your fur's looking a little grubby too, Curio. It'd be nice if you went in for a clean at some point."

Shine glanced at Curio, and indeed, there were several dark splotches on her blue and yellow coat, smelling faintly of mud.

" _Yeah,"_ she said, rolling her eyes. _"Whatever, Dad. So what's for dinner? I'm effing starving."_

"Well to be honest, I was banking on you two getting something at Adele's like last time, but screw it, I'll just order something."

" _Is that fine, though?"_ Shine asked. _"Wouldn't that be a bit expensive?"_

"Eh, it's the weekend anyway, so screw it. How does that sound?"

" _Awesome."_

And so, they browsed through whatever was available on Tony's phone, and after umming and ahhing about their choices for a few minutes, placed their order and waited until the doorbell rang not long after. A Pidgeot arrived with a bundle of food and waited for them to collect it before zipping away in the air, leaving the group to chow down on a mix of various cuisines in the dining room. For Shine, the air was thick with the smells of succulent meats, spices and sauces, and the tastes matched the scents, if a bit too greasy for his liking. Everything in moderation, he supposed.

"Sho," Tony said, chewing on some Miltank ribs, "I've got shome great newsh."

" _Well,"_ Curio said, pointing at him with a Farfetch'd leg, _"Say it, don't spray it."_

Tony swallowed before he continued. "The Primarina's awake and has recovered from the decompression chamber, but she's still being taken care of in the surgery unit. However, now this means you two can go in and ask whatever questions you like, since I know you've been curious all this time."

" _Could we do that tomorrow?"_ Shine said. _"Plus, Curio's been itching to see the aquarium, so could we go there on the way as well?"_

" _I woulthth shay ithing, buth..."_ Curio said with a mouthful.

"Yeah, that's fine," Tony said. "In fact, I was thinking we could make a day out of it. We could prepare something for lunch and have a nice picnic!"

" _Heh."_ Curio picked something out of her teeth with a claw. _"What, are we gonna play dress up as well or somethin'?"_

"I wouldn't tempt fate," Tony said with a grin. "But that way, we can record some footage of you two together for some B-reel shots while we're there. Of course, I'll need paperwork from the both of you, confirming you can keep this matter private."

" _Unhh. Boring."_

"I know, but it's important for me to be able to trust both of you, please. You only need to read the slips and sign, that's all I ask, and then you can fire away. Deal?"

" _Deal."_ The two said in unison. Tony smiled as he took another bite.

"Now leth enjoy thith."

They finished dinner and left the messy kitchen behind to go back to the studio, where Tony did all the lighting preparations from before, alongside setting up his newly arrived equipment, before they started recording away for the third day with Curio on the couch.

"Continuing interview B, segment GeL, part two, take one. So, after the first year, I know the events of the second year were a little tough on all the subjects."

" _Yeah,"_ Curio said, frowning, _"It was, something me and Shine know all too well."_

"What did the second year entail in particular?"

" _Well, the usual stuff. Like that old man said before, we had quite a lot of freedom this time around. I could finally focus on my art, which was great for me, and everyone else was encouraged to do their own thing and find out what sort of life they wanted to live. Some knew what they wanted to do right away, like Basil, and some were still finding their feet, like Shine. This would decide what we would focus on for the rest of the years there. So, on paper, that doesn't sound too bad. But..."_

Curio paused, letting the echo-chamber of the room punctuate the silence. She waved a paw to Tony, gesturing him to respond.

"But," he continued, "what happened?"

" _Something awful. Something truly awful."_

"What is it?" Tony asked in a grave tone. Curio waited for a few seconds, then smiled.

" _Puberty."_ She snickered, stifling herself with her paw, which Shine rolled his eyes at. _"You know how much drama there is in some place like high school, or at least, from what I've seen in flicks and all that. It was kind of like that. Everyone's hormones start going crazy, and next thing you know, there's a psychic throwing chairs everywhere in the cafeteria. Good times."_ She crossed her arms and straightened her face. _"Seriously though, it got hard in a few places. And unfortunately, not every student was really fit to be there, to be honest. But you'll put two and two together once you hear the rest of it. And Shine—"_ Curio glanced at the Luxray, who sat up, _"I hope you're ready to talk about some stuff that happened to you, if you haven't already."_

Shine nodded wordlessly, not wanting to say much until the timing was right.

" _For now though, Tony, fire away on something less depressing."_

* * *

 **(So after Cartwright** **'s speech, I take it you did a lot with these newfound freedoms. What did you do in particular, and how does that tie into what decisions you made throughout the year?)**

Hmm. Well, to start with, we were finally allowed to visit each other's bases in our own time, or even stay in them or switch around. Since they were no longer concerned about the wild grouping thing, they pretty much let us go wherever we wanted. Hell, this was apparent on the first day, when pretty much everyone in the domestic base moved into ours at once and set up camp. Basil mingled with the other wild Pokemon in our group while Pecha fawned over the cuter looking ones. Bran the Machoke sat under the shade, looking like he was about to doze off against one of the trees, the Roselia Lorelei started studying all the flowers with a magnifying glass, while P.Z. had his paws stuck on a handheld gaming thing with two screens. The only guy missing was that yellow devil. This came as a surprise to all of us, particularly me, as I went to Basil first.

"Um, hi," I said. "Are you moving in here now?"

"Well, maybe not," Basil said, "we'll see. If we're not wanted here, we'll move back."

"But," Floatsam said, in the middle of being pet by the Chansey, "I like you guys!"

Basil smiled. "I like you too. But, we're having some problems in our own base at the moment." He nervously tugged at his large tongue. "Um, it's about, erm-"

"Abraxas, 'kay?" P.Z. said, mashing the buttons. "He's bein' an _ass_ again."

I groaned. "Isn't he always?"

"Even more of an _ass_. He won't pick his _crap_ up, leaving notes everywhere and stuff, and keeps takin' up everyone's space." He stuck his tongue out. "That, and the way he talks just makes me wanna punch the _MFer_."

"Well," Basil said, still tugging, "I wouldn't go that far. He has his, um, redeeming qualities. He can be quite helpful whenever I'm stuck on one subject. Even though he insults me for it."

"Pretty sure that ain't helpin'," P. in. "Just stickin' his snout where it don't belong."

"Perhaps." Basil sighed, looking defeated. "But anyway, we all agreed to give him some room. Maybe we aren't enough for his dizzying intellect."

"Hmm," Bran said, sitting up, "I think you are too kind to him, Basil. You shouldn't let him take advantage of that."

"Ah well, I like to give every Mon a second chance."

"What works best for you." Bran put his arms behind his back and closed his eyes, making himself at home already. Anyway, I sort of felt happy that I'd be mingling with my friends from the other base, even if Pecha had a habit of tugging on my aura sensors and calling me cute. Okay, granted, I was, but still, a sense of personal space never hurt anybody.

I wouldn't have really mentioned this if it wasn't for M. Well, M wasn't there at the base at first, but when everybody else came in, he suddenly appeared with that Manectric leading him into the base. Aside from Shine and Patches, Bolt was also M's tutor, though I didn't know why at the time. What struck me as odd at first was how Bolt looked at M with concern, something even Liam would've done whenever he caught me and my brothers in the aftermath of a nasty scrape. And he had a right to be concerned, as I felt it too when I saw M's marks. Faded scratch marks and bruises covers his face and torso. I say faded because they must've been treated as soon as they found him in that state, but the fact those scars appeared on his body in the only places he could've reached with his own paws rubbed me the wrong way. With a wordless sigh, Bolt led him to his usual sitting spot, eyed me once, and left the room. We stared at M curiously, wanting to ask about those weird marks, but not plucking up the courage, knowing his behaviour. At least, not until Pecha stepped in, offering a paw.

"Aw, do you need some help? There, I'm gonna make it feel all—"

Before it even happened, Basil pulled her out of the way, saving her from being bopped on the head with a sudden bone club.

"Alright!" Basil said in shock, "Settle down!"

He didn't respond to that and stood in his battle stance, eyeing the two. M was about to swipe at them again when I yanked on his paw, drawing his attention towards me. His eyes were hollow and deep, like a part of him wasn't there anymore. I wanted him to come to his senses, and so, trying anything to see what would work, I slapped him across the face. To my relief, his eyes looked normal again, and he seemed aware of what he did as he dropped the bone club. Basil and Pecha, though, still looked cautious.

"Maybe we should give him some space, Pecha, shouldn't we?" Basil said.

"But he looked so hurt…"

"Yes, I know, but there's not much we can do. I would just keep your distance from now on, alright?"

She looked at M once more before nodding. While she wasn't really satisfied about it, Basil did a good enough job at convincing her that she forgot M's presence and moved onto petting Fernes behind the ears. I turned to M, leading him to a corner of the room, and glared at him.

"What's wrong with you, huh?" I said. "Why'd you try and hurt my friends?"

He stared down at his feet, aura still as opaque as ever, but still clearly guilty. "Sorry. Got startled."

I didn't want to prattle on about it, any more, so I just brushed it aside and said okay, letting him go back to his own spot. I didn't bother to ask him about those injuries either, though I know I should've in hindsight.

 **(I see. And the director mentioned that you** **'d be able to pick your own topics to study as well. What did that entail?)**

Well, there was the selection day that decided all of that, for starters. I'm sure you went through something like that at some point in whatever school you went to. But anyways, we were called into the battle arena, which was arranged so that some of the staff Pokemon had their own desks where they could work, and would wait for us to hand in our interest sheets so we could have an in-depth chat on what to do. We were told to write down what we had in mind for our future paths, and most of us got on fine since most of us learnt how to read without fail and could write to a certain extent; even the ones that weren't bipedal used their freaking mouths to write. I couldn't imagine doing that myself to be honest, although these flesh mittens aren't really the best to write with anyway. I knew what I wanted to do at the beginning, so I was confident I could follow a certain path and stick with it.

The others, not so much. We were gathered in groups while we waited to be called by the staff, so I got a chance to see what everyone else was doing. From my base, Hans kept staring at the sheet, scribbling and rubbing things out with the pencil as he gripped it with one of his tails. He had stuff written down from drumming to volleyball, but nothing very concrete and focused. I glanced at the other subjects in my base. The rest seemed to do fine, and by the rest, I meant Floatsam and Fernes, who chose firefighting and history respectively. The other two, well, Gastly wasn't there for obvious reasons. It's not like a spooky ball of terror really has plans other than to, you know, spook stuff. Most surprisingly, or not surprisingly depending on how you look at it, M was there, but he didn't even have a sheet on him. He just stared at the turf, looking like quite the sorry Marowak there. His aura was tense, though with it being so hard to look into, I couldn't pin down why. Before I could make out more of it, Shine rubbed against me, holding the sheet in his maw.

"Oh hey," I said, rubbing his head. "What's up?"

He spat it out and looked rather downcast as well.

"Oh, nothing. I'm just a bit worried."

"You're always worried," I said. "Loosen up a bit."

"Yeah, I know, but—" His mouth trembled. "Oh, I don't know what I'm going to do. All I put down was reading and learning about stories. How is that going to be of any use?"

His aura was filled with concern, and that sort of rubbed off on me, but I tried to smile and deflect that tense energy.

"Did you wanna pick that?" I said.

"Yes, of course. It's just, everyone else is doing something important, like scouting for injured Pokemon, or doing flower science, or cooking, and look what I'm doing!"

"Well, I just picked art, and that's not really important. Least I don't think so."

"You always seem so sure of yourself," he said, then scratched at his little mane. "Oh, why can't I just be like that too? Each time I talk, I always screw something up!"

"Oh, quit beating yourself up." I rubbed at his head. "Keep talking like that and I'll end up shocking you like Patches as well."

"But, you can't even learn Electric moves!"

"Yeah, I know. It's called a joke."

"Oh." He faced away from me and kept silent after that. Even without my aura, I could tell he wanted to get away from that situation. Part of me felt guilty for that little comment, but I didn't dwell on it and zoned out for a little bit, until…

"Next, Curio!"

My tail jolted in excitement and I sprang towards the selection desk, where I had to be lifted onto the chair to even be able to talk face to face with the Assistant Director, who was of course, Lucy the Gardevoir. There was a sharp sense to her aura and a confident smile as well. Confident as she was, I couldn't imagine that frilly dress being very comfortable to wear for her type, especially with that chest spike of her own. What is it with us two legged Pokemon and spikes?

"Well, hello again," she said. "I hope you're doing well, Curio. I know things might've been a bit difficult without your family around."

"Uh huh." That kind of opened up an old wound, though I didn't want to call her out on it since she was the one that had to break the news. "It's kinda better now though. Thanks for asking."

"Of course. I was the one who nominated you for the awards in the recent ceremony for your troubles, by the way."

"Okay," was all I could say. Wow, I really had a lot of interesting stuff to say then, didn't I? Still, it was a little awkward, and that ceremony wasn't exactly the Combee's knees, but I knew I was there to hand in my stuff so I could talk about my interests. I placed the sheet and sketchbook on the table, which she took in her leafy hand and examined with an intense focus, flicking through the pages. My work wasn't really a masterpiece, so I didn't have very high hopes for what she'd think, but I knew I was there to learn and would take anything she had to say on the chin. And once she was done, she closed the sketchbook and gazed back at me.

"You said you wanted to draw, hmm. I know you've been doing a lot of that in the first year, and I'm pleased you've gone this far with your hobby. We wouldn't have ordered more sketchbooks if that wasn't the case. But, these drawings have lots of room for improvement, unfortunately."

I read between the lines and took the hint that my drawings were still pretty bad, but no matter, I wasn't expecting to be showered with praise. "I know." I showed my paws to her. "There ain't a lot I can do with these. But I know I wanna do it anyway, cuz it feels good."

"Understandable. I'm sure your writing classes must've helped, however, art theory is another thing aside from penmanship. Still, we can teach you, so you can work within your limits. But what is your goal? Do you want to just be good, or do you want to aim for the stars?"

"I dunno. I'm just a Pokemon, so it's not like I can do cool things like, I dunno, be a famous drawer or painter or whatever."

"Don't be silly, girl." She leaned forward and smacked her leaf-like paws on the table. "You're in Gestalt Learning, we have the means to make you into what you wish. If I gave up when I first started as a Ralts, I wouldn't be here right now. Think bigger than that and go even further. If you wanted to be a painter, there are some Pokemon like you who've had their works put up in galleries already, so why not aim for that?"

I was left speechless. Truth be told, that was a bit of a morale booster, especially after all the uncertainty surrounding my mates, but being encouraged to do something that big, surprisingly enough, made me feel small. She must've seen I was nervous, so she backed away and her expression softened, looking less like she wanted to tear out my heart and eat it.

"Ahem. Your human partner is Lexy, isn't he?"

"Um, I think so?" We were often assigned whenever I had a review session, where I'd test my language skills and chew the fat about whatever we wanted, but it hadn't been made official.

"Mmm, hmm." She grabbed a pen and scribbled in notes, focusing hard on the paper as if she was trying to read its mind. "I'll see if I can arrange a trip with you and him. You'll be able to go into the outside world, see for yourself what's possible, and also discuss it with someone who's had his fingers in a few pies, so to speak."

My jaw dropped when she mentioned the outside world. Ever since I got the photo album back from Mom, I often dreamed about going to the places they visited and walking the streets like we were tourists on vacation. We hadn't set foot or paw out of the facility ever, so being given the chance to like that was like getting a brand new games console for Yuletide, if that's what humans usually get.

"Really?" I stood up on the seat and wagged my tail in excitement. "I'm gonna go out, like, out out so soon?"

"Yes. On two conditions. One." She held out one finger. "Stick with Lexy at all times and be on your best behaviour. No straying away or, his whiteness forbid, pee on anything that isn't yours. If you're to be like a human, you have to set an example. And two." She held out the other finger. "Don't talk about Gestalt Learning in public, not to your partner or to random strangers. Nobody here is allowed to reveal their ties to this project for any reason whatsoever."

"Why?"

Her intense gaze returned, as well as that sense of unease from when I first met her. "Let's not get into that right now. I don't want to worry you too much, but trust us, it's very important that you be careful of what you say in the outside world. Can I trust you to follow these conditions?"

I was about to say something else, but in the end, I just nodded, sensing I had to change the subject. Not that the thought left me, just that it was hard to press her on it when she had more power over me. Still, she relaxed and smiled in turn, letting me know that I was in the clear.

"Your tutor will let you know when you can go, but in the mean time, think about what you'd like to do. I'll see you around."

I leapt out of my seat and dashed through the hallway. I skipped as I ran, and would've shouted my lungs out if I felt like it, just to express my excitement. I didn't care where I went, as we were allowed to roam the hallways as we pleased for our second year, so I got that out of my system before I slowed down to a brisk pace and walked back to my own base.

Aside from that, the next few days were uneventful until I was called by one of the mediators to go to the security doors. There, that Machamp Henry stood guard as Lexy waited there, greeting me along the way.

" _Right,"_ Henry said, crossing his four arms. _"You're headin' to a public place, so I gots words for both of you."_ He turned to Lexy first. _"Keep a close eye on her, you hear? Might be her first time, so if anythin' happens while she's out, it's your funeral."_

Lexy nodded, nonplussed. The Machamp turned to me next. "And you, no runnin' around wherever you wanna. You'll be walkin' with lots of humans, but you'll be indoors, so you'll be safe. If you goes wanderin' off on your own, though, I don't think Miss Gardy'll be pleased. Got that?"

"R-right!" I mean, how else would I have reacted to a four armed behemoth like him? He probably could've snapped my limbs off like Miltank Jerky if I got on his bad side again. I took his word though, and when he sensed we were both clear on the risks involved, he smiled and drew out a Pokeball.

" _You know, it'll be a blast goin' with you. They have a thing on famous Machamp pants and belts, don't they?"_

Lexy nodded. I internally scoffed at the idea, although I wasn't entirely sure how to picture an exhibit on those thing, especially if that thing about their pants being skin is true. Oh yeah, everybody come and check out the skin exhibit. Sounds like a great way to bring the kids and Pokemon together. But whatever. Machamp presented the ball to me, and once I touched it, I got sucked in, staying in that void for what felt like an eternity before I got taken out.

Once I emerged from the white light, I was presented with the insides of a fancy looking building. That's the only thing I could've called it at the time, but thinking closely, it was wide and spacious, with all sorts of marble pillars holding it up, as well as staircases and pathways leading to different rooms. In the middle of it all was a sign that read 'Veilstone Museum of Natural History and Pokemon Curiosities', and below that, the skeleton of an Aerodactyl, which creeped me out at first. It was a bit unnerving looking at something that used to have eyes and a face, now reduced to bone. But I got used to it, and I was given enough time to adjust to my surroundings until our quad-armed tour guide cleared his throat.

 _"Alright, you_ _'re free to tell me where to go and whatever floats your Gogoat, but otherwise, the both of you need to stick with me. If anyone gets lost, it'll be my neck on the line too. Is that clear?"_

We both nodded and facedd the main hall. My heart was pounding. There were a few humans, walking in and out, some who glanced at our direction. I'm not sure whether or not it was the Machamp talking, or the sight of us three, but it must've attracted some attention. I might've peed my pants if I had any to begin with. But Lexy must've seen the look on my face, so he leaned in and gently squeezed my paw.

"You'll be fine; it's a hella nice place. See anything you like and we'll check it out, okay?"

I just nodded. At that point, I had learnt enough to hold my own in a conversation, but seeing how things were, I thought I'd soak in the atmosphere and get used to everybody's auras before mustering up the confidence to talk. He started walking, and I followed after him into the first room, which had a lot of cool things like exhibits of small Pokemon skeletons, photos of different Pokemon in the wild, clips of them in their natural habitat projected on the walls, and the like. The skeleton in the hall gave me a taste for what was to come, so I was a little less nervous going into the rest. Still, I wouldn't have blamed Lexy if he was a little concerned.

"To be honest, this part gives me the creeps. If you want, we can go some place else."

" _It's good, that's inside me!"_ I said, patting my chest. _"I'm all bone!"_

He chuckled, and we continued staring at dead bodies from there. Out of context, that'd probably sound weird, but oh well. We wandered around some more, navigating the different rooms, where we got to see how the earth was formed, big whoop, but while we walked, I kept thinking of why I was there in the first place, looking at things that probably would never come into play in my own life, or why people paid money to visit such a place.

Okay, they were all stupid questions, none of which I had answers to at the time, but think about it. They all added up to record some part of history, which was important to look back on, but of all the things I saw up until that point, pretty much all of it was written and achieved by humans or done by natural events. Pokemon affected the world in all sorts of weird ways, from sometimes causing earthquakes and tsunamis, but if anything, all that showed to me was that we were still dumb animals that didn't know what we were doing. There was nothing about us making big decisions like running towns or regions of our own or coming up with war strategies or whatever.

What was the point of me, a Pokemon, coming to visit if I couldn't make a mark myself? History was written by the winners, after all, and we never really won anything aside from battles started to settle disputes or to progress wars for other causes that weren't our own. Not a lot of us could even write to begin with.

My first burst of confidence in that museum was seeing a vaguely spiked statue in one of the corridors. I recognised that shape immediately and tugged on Lexy's shirt.

"Oh, you wanna see that? Sure, lead the way."

I glanced at him, unsure of leading my human partner forward instead of it being the other way around, but I walked through the cold, smooth floor, until I was face to face with a bronze Lucario statue. They posed just like Trunks did whenever he charged up his aura, and gleamed in the lamplights above. At the bottom, there was a plaque, which Lexy read out to me.

"This is based off of the Tower of Mastery statue in Shalour City, Kalos, currently the world-record holder for the biggest Lucario statue at 100m high. The original statue was commissioned by Elite Four member Fabienne Durand in 1942, back in the long-done days when members of the Elite influenced the political sphere. Made in honour of his Lucario, who served under him for 43 years before sadly passing away. In order to preserve his loyal Pokemon's memory, 120 different artists were hired to build the statue in a matter of 12 years, and the rest is history. To this day, the Tower of Mastery remains a popular tourist spot, as well as a source of inspiration for trainers and their Pokemon."

I didn't really pay that much attention to what he said, since I was just so entranced by the actual statue itself. I wanted to know how it was made, and how to make it. It seemed bigger and more tactile than drawing, and when I thought about how I would create it, the process seemed more satisfying than being confined to a flat surface. Of course, I knew jack all about sculpting, but if I was in a place where I could've learnt about it, why not own it?

Lexy must've noticed how my face glowed, so he knelt down and patted my shoulder.

"You like him, huh?" he said. "Seems like the sort of strong Pokemon you'd look up to."

" _Kinda! I wanna make that statue!"_

He seemed puzzled at first. The idea of a Pokemon learning to sculpt must've been new to him, but I didn't know whether he was enthusiastic or sceptical. Judging by his aura, he seemed optimistic, but I wasn't so sure.

" _Can I make that?"_ I nervously rubbed my paws together. _"Can Pokemon make that?"_

" _Sure you can, kiddo,"_ Henry said. He gave Lexy a gentle nudge with his elbow, which got him out of his stupor.

"Okay, it's possible, I guess. Hold on, let me find something..." He paused and unfolded a pamphlet. "There's one place upstairs that shows stuff like Pokemon Outsider Art. Huh, now this has got me curious, too. Curio. Curious? See what I did there?"

" _Bad joke,"_ I said with a glare. _"Sounds cool, though. Can you take me?"_

He nodded and led the way up to an elevator. Once the double doors opened, Lexy navigated through the corridors with his map, until we entered a small room where the exhibit supposedly was. The space was cramped with many different oddments scattered about, but once I got used to it, I looked at each item with enthusiasm: An abstract painting with many different odd colours and strokes. A realistic painting of various Pokemon in a wild habitat. Odd curios made from different pieces of collected junk. And even a poem, which I can't recall at the top of my head, but remembered how nicely it flowed and how it reminded me of Mom's old stories.

All of them were made by Pokemon of different species and walks of life. Some were actually a bit old, but most were fairly recent. There was even a poster talking about the Smeargle Palette outside the Ruins of Alph, but I shouldn't get sidetracked about that yet.

Point is, I took notice of everything there and it got me inspired. Even though it was a small selection, out of many yet to be discovered, I wanted to be a part of that world. If there was any way I could make my mark on history and be the kind of Pokemon that stood out from the crowd, I would make something that was worthy of being gawked at by random strangers. You could say I sold out already, and that I just wanted attention, but what else was there for me to do aside from serve a trainer for the rest of my life? From there, I had a goal, and I would do whatever it took to fulfil it.

Lexy stretched his arms. "I could do with some coffee. You wanna stop by for a break? I can treat you to some cocoa there."

" _Ah no,"_ Henry said, pulling out his own wallet. _"Don't waste your money on her. Whatever she wants, we'll pay from our own pockets. You'll still pay up for yours though._ "

Money was still pretty alien to me, and admittedly, it was odd to see another Pokemon with a wallet, but whatever. It wasn't completely farfetched from what we were taught, and Lexy shrugged it off. Anyway, we all sat at a cafe with everything ordered, and I guess there wasn't too much to talk about the room itself except that a few Pokemon were already out with their own trainers, happily munching on whatever their trainers bought them or in their own corner of the room with climbing frames of their own, not unlike the GeL base. I almost leapt off the seat to join them when Henry firmly gripped my shoulder, stopping me.

"Sorry, kiddo," he said, "We oughta keep talkin' to outsiders at a minimum."

I was still a bit sceptical about it, but again, the four armed monster had the final word over a scrawny token Riolu. For now, I just enjoyed their company while I helped myself to some of that smooth chocolaty bliss.

"So," Lexy said, "I saw you liked that thing we just visited."

" _Yeah!"_ I said, wiping the chocolate flakes off my face, _"I wanna do what they did! I'll have my stuff up there soon!"_

He smiled with an aura that felt genuine and not patronising. Then, a question whizzed past me, so I gulped down my cocoa and planted my paw on the table.

" _What do you do?"_

He cocked his head. While my speech skills were good at the end of the first year, I still had some issues with expressing what I truly meant. I guess I was kind of like Fernes, in a way.

" _Oh, I mean, you're a student too! What do you do?"_

"Ah, I see. Well, at the moment, I'm in Veilstone University, which is kind of like a school, except bigger. Stop me if you want me to explain anything."

I nodded.

"I'm studying for a doctorate in Pokemon Behavioural Studies-"

I raised my paw.

" _Doctorate? Like you're cutting Pokemon open? Don't dissect me!"_

"Oh jeez, no! I'm not a doctor, I meant, doctorate. It's like an advanced course where you get to work in whatever job you want to at the end of it. It's really hard, but it's also really rewarding. To be honest, I've wanted to do something like this for ages. The thing that director's doing hasn't really been done anywhere else. He's got big dreams, you know, and he's a great contact. Apparently, he—"

" _Shut it,"_ Henry said, pointing at him with his protein bar. _"Remember, we can't talk about it here."_

I groaned, still a little frustrated that Henry was being so hush-hush about it, but still, no use arguing.

"Oh, right, sorry. Maybe later. Still, we're working with lots of prestigious professionals. They're making lots of good contributions to—"

" _Don't use big words!"_ I pulled away from him. _"You're confusing me!"_

"Right, right, sorry." He sighed and drummed his fingers on the table. "I kind of forget you're a Pokemon sometimes. You've already got this conversation thing down pat, you know. You should be proud."

" _I am. It's how Mama and Bro would've liked!"_

"Right." He frowned, and swirled some sugar into his coffee. "Do you still miss them?"

I cocked my head. _"Sometimes. I think I have a new family now. That's enough for me."_

"Yeah, sounds good." He frowned. "I get a lil' homesick myself, you know. I like what I'm doing, but they're back in Eterna, doing what they wanna do, while I'm probably the only guy from our clique who's coming out here every day."

" _Have friends here?"_

"Hmm, I've made a few with the other students. We study together and all that. But it's just not the same, y'know?"

I paused, digesting what he said. I pointed to myself.

" _Am I a friend?"_

His eyes widened. "Well, yeah, I guess. I enjoy the time we spend together, after all."

" _So, you're not alone!"_

Lexy scoffed, and stifled a laugh with his fist. He held my paw with the other hand, and I felt something spark inside of me. While my thoughts of humans had been a bit discoloured from Liam's ramblings, that one seemed just fine. He listened to me and seemed to support me without being overbearing. That aura seemed friendly as well. I didn't care whether or not it was instinct; something told me it was worth sticking with him, and possibly, be friends with him as well. Right there, a door opened within me.

That's when white light flashed around me. Sort of like I was being put inside that Pokeball again, except not. My form grew and expanded in places I wouldn't have expected. My tail grew in size. Spikes stuck out of my paws and chest. My head got bigger, as well as my aura sensors. None of it hurt, but it still felt weird, like my soul was being molded and sculpted to fit the image of some higher power. Once my sight returned to normal, I noticed I stood taller than Lexy. Just to confirm what happened, I also looked down at my paws, which were properly spiked this time.

I had grown. I had changed. I had evolved into a Lucario.

So, with that in mind, pop quiz. What do you think happens to a Lucario getting used to their powers in a room with lots of other people's auras?

 **(I can imagine it would be hard to adjust to.)**

Yup, a gold star for you. When I first felt it, lots of other people's thoughts flooded into mine. This is just a sample of what was on the spiritual menu:

 **Oh, that Riolu just evolved.**

 **Damnit, where did my kids run off to?**

 **How am I going to pay this month's rent when I've lost three matches in a row?**

 **Why did I decide to become a trainer?**

 **I need to be strong for my team.**

 **Why can't my trainer listen to me?**

None of those thoughts were very delicious. They were all screaming for equal attention, and so, when it came flooding back to me, I didn't know what the hell to do. I backed away, but my paws wobbled and I must've fell since that Machamp caught me in two of those chiselled arms of his.

"Alright, alright," he said, rubbing my head with one of his other arms. Admittedly, that felt weird knowing someone petted me with a third hand, but at least it distracted me from the aural chaos in the room. "Congrats for evolving and all, but I knew this would've mind's all muddled, ain't it?"

Not sure how to react, I just nodded.

"Thought so." He gently lowered me to the floor and pulled the Pokeball out, much to my dismay. _"Sorry, but I'm gonna have to call it here."_ He turned to the human. _"I think your schedule's clear, so you're free to go."_

"Uh, right, but—" Lexy approached me with an aura of concern. Well, that set me off again. He had a lot of concerns really, but I'll get to that later. "Can I help, or something?"

" _Not unless you fancy a trip all the way back there."_

"Well, maybe not. But I guess I can count this as an early day off." Before he went, he crouched to my level and smiled. "If you wanna, you can come talk to me anytime, even outside the lessons if I'm around. How's that sound?"

I distracted myself from everyone's thoughts long enough to coax some sort of reply. _"Good."_

"Alright, take it easy." Hearing that from him again was kind of calming, but then he left, and I was on my own with the hulking mass. He helped me up again, I must mention, with those muscley arms, and held out the Pokeball within my reach.

"I don't wanna force ya in here. Only when you're ready."

I took one final look at the rest of the museum, still unable to block out the thoughts of the humans and mon around me, and tapped the Pokeball.


	28. Non-Canon Extra Chapter: Broken Shinies

_**Author's Note:** I wrote a bonus chapter! Think of this as an omake that's strictly non-canon, although I've tried my best to stick to the canon of both worlds, and even expand on stuff I haven't revealed yet about certain characters in TCATS. Even so, certain characters might be written differently or slightly more exaggerated/downplayed than they are in canon.  
_

 _As the chapter title implies, this is a crossover between The Vulture Queen's Pokemon fic 'Broken Things' and this fic. I made this based on a random prompt they suggested, word for word: 'curio and shine babysit pixie.' I liked this idea so much, especially since Pixie is my favourite character from Broken Things so far, that I decided to write it out. I wanted to go the extra mile with this though and try to emulate their unique second person POV style, since it does a great job of getting into the heads of the characters. It was not only a challenge getting their style down pat, it was also a challenge staying true to characters that aren't my own. Then again, what would we be as fanfic writers if we didn't rip off someone else's hard work by using their characters?_

 _Chronologically, you can think of this as an alternate version of chapter 16 where Curio and Shine are on their own while Tony is out for work._

 _ **Disclaimer:** Even though this is written in 2nd person POV, the use of it is purely for story elements and to get into the heads of the characters. This is NOT an interactive work and shouldn't be viewed as such. Please check out Broken Things anyway, since reading part of that should give you a good idea of what their style is like and how they use it in their fic._

* * *

 **Cuicatl Ichtaca**

You're in a foreign land with a screaming fox. Of all the regions, Kalos seems the most detached to your native region, and your understanding of it is vague at best. Of course, Achcauhtli read to you about it, and you know its trainer system is not unlike those in Sinnoh or Kanto, but everything else seems unmemorable. You have no basis for Ambrette Town in particular, although it's a coastal town if the crashing of the waves and the burbles of the various water Pokemon are anything to go by. Maybe like that Poliwag. But everything else is uncharted territory.

If everything is unfamiliar, though, then why are you here?

Simple answer: you don't know. Just that everything is hot, the reflected sunlight on the tarmac is eating at your legs, and your snow fox is barking for your attention.

"It's hot!" Pixie shouts, or rather, what you interpret her shouting. You're able to parse her speech as you're used to psychic reading, but she can only truly speak in growls and cries.

"I know," you say, trying to find a way to resolve this.

"I'll melt!" she screeches.

"I'll do everything to make sure you don't," you reassure her. Though at this rate, she probably will. Are Kalosan summers always this hot? Anyway, you instinctively dig into your pocket out of listlessness and fumble around until you feel a slip of paper run between your fingers. There are bumps on the sheet. Whoever put you on this rock was kind enough to give you something to read, at least.

'You're in another world,' the bumps read, 'Quite like your own, but different. There are several instructions on this slip of paper that will help you get back, but the biggest priority is getting your Alolan Vulpix taken care of. Unfortunately, you don't have your Pokeball, and you can't buy another one to use it, so you're stuck with her in her real form.'

You mutter 'fuck' underneath your breath before you continue reading.

'But you will find somewhere willing to take her in at the following address. After that, the rest will follow.'

The address means nothing to you, but it's one thing to take care of first. But that only brings in more questions. Why are you here? Who put you in this other world? Hold on, there are other worlds?

This realisation hits you hard enough to make your knees wobble. Pixie seems to notice as she growls, but you're stuck in your own head space. You don't belong here. Do you belong anywhere, except from home, which you can't come back to? Your prized Pokemon are all off somewhere else, your mom and brother is, well, you can't bring yourself to think about that, and you took on the trainer's journey to forget about that. Yet you brought the baggage with you, and you can't escape that.

You aren't here of your own free will. You aren't in control. Since when did you have any sway over your own actions anyway? You can't even keep control of your own mouth to get it to eat food. But you ventured out on your own anyway. That was a choice. This is just a railroad you're being guided through, and for what purpose? To satisfy Tezcatlipoca, or whoever stuck you here? So you're just a cosmic plaything for the gods, great. You-

Pixie's clawing at your leg and screaming. To stop her from making your leg into shredded kebab, you take her in your hands and pet her. She's cool to the touch, like an icy water bottle, but it should be even colder. This isn't normal, and unless you do something about it, she'll run away for good. Time to stop feeling sorry for yourself and move onto feeling sorry for someone else. But how to calm her down?

"Vanilluxe!" she yelps. "Over there!"

You gauge what she's crying at from where she directs her cries. You bump into someone and they curse at you, you bite the urge to curse back, and hear someone at the front asking for a double scoop. Ice cream. That will keep her calm for now, or so you hope. Only a single scoop for her, though. Quetzalcoatl knows you can't afford to splurge for yourself, not that you'd want to.

–

You ask for directions as the slip of paper says, and one old woman with her Bunnelby is kind enough to give you the directions. She says she knows the owner, and the Bunnelby repeats it in the human tongue. Odd. Did Bunnelby have the vocal cords to speak that in this world? And if so, why doesn't it seem to be commonplace? Then again, if that was the case, assuming every Pokemon had a human intellect, they would've overtaken the government by now. You don't know whether or not this is a good thing, though. But back to the woman.

She is nice enough to take the cane off you and guide you by the hand through the apparent town square. She also doesn't ask many questions about what your predicament is. You're slightly grateful for that, since your best explanation would sound too far fetched for any sane human's ears, although you wished she would stop talking to herself and guffawing like some loud bird. Pixie is content eating from the scoop you've provided in your hand, enough that she doesn't notice the Bunnelby clumsily hopping close to the woman's leg. All for the better as her type would most likely be the kind to hunt Bunnelby for breakfast.

Eventually, she guides you up a staircase, step by step for your pace, and politely taps you on the shoulder when she reaches a particular spot. One light tap ahead of you, and the hollow knocking sound it emits tells you it's a door. Then, the old lady thanks you before attending to her duties with her Bunnelby. You sigh, not exactly proud of being guided by a complete stranger. It's not like you deserve help. If they were so accommodating though, then why didn't the slip of paper mention her existence? No matter. Besides, foxes don't mix well with rabbits.

Like a puppet, you knock at the door and expect the owner to come take Pixie away from you for a bit. Here, of all places. Because you can't provide for her yourself in this situation.

Okay, let's not. You have a job to do. So the door opens, and instead of sensing another person in front of you, Pixie's growls tell you that a Pokemon is by your feet. You also hear a jingle at the bottom, possibly hanging by said Pokemon's collar. So the master of the house isn't home. How is this going to help? No matter. You kneel down and try to get through their mind, untangling the knots in your psychic links as best as possible, in the hopes of asking them where their master is. But his knots aren't a web of impulses and emotions at all; they're a goddamned labyrinth.

What is this? You only saw this in the most impenetrable of minds, your brother included, but what business did a non-psychic Pokemon have with that sort of head space? With your sort of experience, it would take you ages to get through all the passages in their mind, though it was doable. It was too much effort and not worth the risk of getting lost in there, though. You recall your training with Renfield and find your way back out into the real world. Oh, there's still a bit of lag you didn't account for, and now your body feels weightless.

" _Hey!"_ A girl shouts. It's noticeably inhuman sounding, but before you know it, you're in the arms of a furred Pokemon and Pixie is somewhere else. She isn't in your grasp, but she's clinging to your leg. Since when was she ever this loyal? But never mind, you're back in the real world. Instinctively, you reach out to whoever's holding you, and end up bumping it against a round spike on a chest-like area.

" _Okay, that's kinda weird,"_ the girl says." _D'you usually grope Lucario in public?"_

So she's a Lucario, and she spoke in human tongue. A very sailor-mouthed tongue at that. But maybe you should try to salvage this situation first before passing judgements.

"Sorry," you say, "I couldn't see."

" _Yeah, yeah, I'm just pullin' your leg. Can you stand now?"_

You straighten yourself and manage to stand up with the help of that cane. The Lucario pats your back, and says something in her own tongue to the other Pokemon, although you understand that it's a command of some sort.

" _Oh, how rude of me,"_ the other Pokemon says, sounding male. " _Miss, who are you?"_

Pixie starts growling at him again.

"That thing is weird!"

She probably isn't used to Pokemon speaking the human language.

"What are you?" you ask.

" _Oh, pardon me, a Luxray. I suppose we aren't very common outside of Sinnoh."_

So a Luxray can speak too. At this rate, it's safe to assume every bleeding Pokemon in this world has the biology to speak your language. Then again, he could be one of those Gestalt Luxray you read about in the Alola Dex.

" _I don't mean to be rude, but again, who are you?"_

It isn't like you to apologise so much, but you bow reflexively since you're in a vulnerable position here. "Sorry. I'm Cuicatl Ichtaca. I'm not from around here."

" _I can tell."_

"But, I-" You stop yourself from running your dumbass mouth. Again, you can't say a slip of paper brought you here, so you might as well tell a white lie here. A white lie involving a white fox. "In truth, I was told to come here by Hilda, the old merchant you seem to know."

" _Oh, her. But for what?"_

"I was told you could babysit for Pixie here." Despite Pixie's protests, you continue. "I can't keep her with me, as I have some business to attend to. Sorry, but that's all I can say."

"No," she yowls. "Don't leave me!"

"I'm sorry," you say, kneeling down to her level. You try to stroke her, half-fearing she'll nip your fingers off, but she gives in and you course your hand through her icy coat. "You would be in better company with fellow Pokemon."

"I'm better than those Pokemon."

The Luxray growls, but before Pixie can growl back, you pat her head. "Of course you are. But with the way things are, I'd be better off keeping you safe."

"I'm strong! I can take anything on, so don't leave me!"

You frown. As bratty as she's being, you understand her mindset. "I'll get you another ice cream after I'm done sorting this out."

"And a new harness!"

"Yes, a new harness." You turn to the direction of the door where the other two are. "So can you look after her, please? I'll promise not to be too long."

The Luxray mutters to himself, somewhere between a mewl and a whisper, but you don't catch the words. " _I-I'm sorry,"_ he stutters, " _b-but I think you should find somewhere else."_

"I can't." You probably can, but this is the closest thing you've got to solving one problem right away. "They said I could trust you." That's complete Taur, but you bite through it anyway.

" _U-um, can you help me out here..."_ He chats with the Lucario in his own tongue, still inaccessible to your own telepathy. Pixie is trying to pull herself away from your hand into a different direction. She's trying to get away. You have to keep her at bay, by whatever means necessary. You may be weak and unable to see, but you decide to use that to your advantage and purposely drop the cane you're holding. You know where you dropped it but you fumble around for it as if you didn't. If the message isn't clear to even a Slowpoke that you're blind and helpless, then what else is supposed to work?

" _Oh, for fuck's sake, here."_ The Lucario hands you the cane and you accept it. She certainly has a mouth on her. You briefly wonder if there are swears in the general Pokemon language, or even draconic, then note that the concept would be alien to most of them and move on.

" _Um, s-sorry, I didn't know,"_ the Luxray says, sounding like he's about to crack. " _Oh, god, I'm terrible."_

"No, no, that's fine," you say, even though that was the intended reaction. You're about to ask him again, but then realise that would be too on the nose and let them decide.

" _We'll take, um, this Alolan Vulpix in. I'm sure we can help."_

"Thank you." You're about to get to your feet when Pixie gives you one pitiful nudge.

"A Vanilluxe, new harness and treat after," she demands.

"The ice cream would be the treat."

"Then something else."

You shrug it off for now and give her one last head pat before standing up. "I didn't want to load this onto you, but this does help a lot."

" _Don't mention it,"_ the Lucario says. You can hear the grin in her tone. " _It's gonna be fun watching her mess up the place."_

" _Wait, w-what?"_ Luxray says, exasperated. " _S-she wouldn't!"_

"She's a fox," I tell him. "Make of that what you will."

" _O-oh no! I hope Tony's okay with this!"_

" _Tony schmoney,"_ Lucario says. " _Now are you gonna let her in or what?"_

While you can't see her, you imagine Pixie leering at you like you just stepped on her multiple tails. Which you might've done before on accident, however apologetically. "It's alright, I'll be back, with the treats as promised."

"Good." She gives one final huff before entering the apartment with the two other Pokemon, and the door closes. Strangely enough, you feel a draft blowing through you, even though it's still hot. You feel somewhat naked without your helping Pokemon with you. But you will look at the paper again in time, ignoring the familiar sensation that this narrative is not about you.

* * *

 **Pixie**

You're alone, and with two others much bigger than you. One has a mane and is leering at you with his one eye. The other has spikes, dangerous spikes that could kill you, and she's sneering. The black arm catches you off guard, and you freeze up. You hadn't met a Lucario before, but something tells you this is not normal for them. But you hear Skysong's footsteps clattering outside, and you turn towards the door, listening out for her, hoping she'll come back. But she left you here. She's leaving you behind, but there's the promise of hunting a Vanilluxe later and getting a new harness. If not, you'll scream at Skysong until she gets you what you deserve for being a good fox.

Back to these Pokemon in front of you. They spoke human, stuff you can understand to a certain extent, but can't quite process, especially not from other Pokemon. They smell like Pokemon anyway, although the supposed Luxray stinks of soap and Rawst berries, but their mannerisms are odd. They don't move with the air of a Pokemon like you, and they don't carry themselves with the same air as those who function in a pack. Not fit for hunting at all, but they both have scars of their own. No matter. You will bark orders at them and train them until they become good pack mates. So you make your tails stand up on edge and straighten your back, ready to-

The Luxray pads away from you, leaving the Lucario on her own. Wait, where is he going? You were going to teach him a lesson.

"Hey," the Lucario says, calling to him. "You gonna give me a hand here?"

"Fine," he says, padding back to your direction. You huff and flick your tails down.

"Don't need help," you say.

"Well, okay, maybe not," she says, "but we might as well get to know each other while we're here, right?" She kneels down to your level. "It's Pixie, right?"

"Only Skysong calls me that."

"Sky-" she starts before stopping. It's annoying when Pokemon are indecisive in how they talk. "Right. Can we just call you that for now?"

"Yes."

"Okay, Pixie, pleased to meet ya." She brings a spiked paw to your head without asking, and you instinctively back away, tails raised up.

"You'll kill me," you say. "I'll freeze you."

"Oh, because of this?" She holds up her sharp paw. "Okay, how about the other hand then?" She extends her black arm towards you that time, one with a human hand, and places that on your head. It's cold to the touch, and it reacts well with your icy temperament. So she's the same type as you. Just like the Nine-tails. You can't help but purr, even though you curse yourself from the inside for letting your guard down.

"Huh," she says. "I didn't know other Pokemon liked that sort of thing. Everyone's usually weirded out by it."

It is weird, though you don't let her know since you're too lost in the moment. That is, until she brings her hand back.

"Well, I dunno what's up with your trainer, but I hope you find it nice here, even though it's not my place." As she says that, the maned Pokemon beside her grunts. "Okay, so my name's C-"

"No," you say. "You are Spikemom."

Spikemom cocks her head. "Huh, well that's a first. Then who's he?"

The maned Pokemon tries to speak up, but you stomp the ground, freezing a part of the carpet. "You are Grumpcry."

Spikemom's laughter catches you off guard, briefly flashing you back to that laughing human, but you ignore that as Spikemom tries to catch her breath, like she's sick. "Oh man, Grumpcry!" She saves herself from dying and pats Grumpcry's head. "Sorry, but that's your name from now on."

"Yeah," Grumpcry grumpily cries. "Right."

He doesn't seem to show a lot of dominance, especially not for a male Pokemon. Your only other superior here is Spikemom, and you may do as she says if she wills it, but with Grumpcry, you will show no such authority. He is yours to boss around until Skysong comes along and gives you what you deserve.

"Spikemom," you say, "What can I do here?"

"Well, hmm, I just mooch off this place so I can't really give you a house tour. So Grumpcry-" she nudges him with her paw, "why don't you do the honours?"

He huffs, flicking his tail indignantly. "I'm never going to live that name down, aren't I?"

"Nope! Well then, get to work."

"Fine." He turns to you and walks, expecting you to follow him, but you will only do so since Spikemom said to. And you need something cool, fast. Human apartments usually have something for that, didn't they?

He first leads you through a room with plush furniture and black boxes. You're familiar with what the boxes show but you always find the shows boring and mostly for human eyes. The Vulpix nature shows are passable, but you'd find yourself screaming at the screen telling them to find their stupid prey already. Grumpcry doesn't talk about it.

Then there's the kitchen, where a few odd smells waft across the room. A few bad ones from the bin, and some other odd ones from the counters. In any case, you know there's food here, and that there's something cool waiting for you to eat, although you've already had your fill from the Vanilluxe. Even so, it's too warm in here for comfort. Grumpcry still isn't very talkative. He's either the lone wolf or the omega of the bunch.

"Wow, some tour guide you are," Spikemom tells the Luxray.

"Well," he says, "What am I supposed to say to that thing?"

"That thing?" you say, detecting Grumpcry's dismissive tone. "I'm Pixie! You are below me and you will respect me!"

"I only just met you." Grumpcry turns around and frowns, showing weakness. "I'm trying the best I can."

"Not good enough," you say. "Need respect!"

"Now listen here," he growls, walking towards you. He's taller than you but you aren't afraid. You have the upper hand, for foxes are better than lions.

"Hey guys," Spikemom says, "I'm gettin' somethin' from the fridge. Now Tony's out, well, we can have some fun here." She snickers as she opens the cooling portal and grabs a can of something. You're not sure what it is, but when she flicks the cap, it makes a fizzing sound, making your fur bristle up in surprise.

"I doubt Tony's going to be pleased to hear you raiding his stash," Grumpcry says.

"Oh can it, sourpuss." She takes a swig and snickers again, this time with a bit more energy to her tone. "Ah, this is the good _shit_ right here."

There it is again: that human word. You've heard it describe excrement before, but you've also heard it whenever the humans lose something and/or get angry. There wasn't an equivalent in your language in terms of growls and cries, but while you understand the word, you don't know what Spikemom means. Can excrement be good? And does drinking it improve your mood?

"Can I drink?" you say, even though it smells like rotten wheat from a distance.

"Nah, you'd die. I'm a big girl, I can handle this."

So according to her, you're not a big girl. You straighten your back again and prepare to tell Spikemom off, even if she is your alpha.

"But hold up," she says, digging into the cold void again, "there's more stuff here if you want it. Ooh!" She digs a plate out with some sort of half-eaten pastry on top. "You can have this turnover, for starters."

"No, that's mine," Grumpcry says, standing up on his hindlegs. "Besides, I doubt she'll want to eat something I've already bitten out of."

You don't care about sharing germs, as it seems trivial for your excellent immune system, but you aren't hungry either. You've already stopped taking interest in the cold portal and turn to the big humming box by your side. Then Grumpcry steps up and stands on his legs again, opening the door to reveal a misty portal, much colder than the other one.

"That's the freezer," Grumpcry says, looking at you with concern. Finally, he knew his place. "I can see you're Alolan, and you're probably very warm in this weather and I don't think the AC is on. Did Tony get that fixed or..."

You tune out and start tapping the floor, getting sick of his prattle.

"Point is that you can have something from there if it'll help you cool down," Spikemom said.

"Open it," you say, hoping they'd show off the goods. Spikemom pulls upon the bottom-most drawer, which has nothing but ice-bags in it, but you take one look at it and it reminds you of home, even down to the pictures of the mountains on the wrappers. Like a typical fox diving into the snow to hunt their prey, you dive into the drawer and feel the cold seep back into you. You missed this. You missed how the blizzards felt and how the snow tingled your whiskers, even if most of that snow is freezer buildup.

"Glad you like it," Spikemom says with a grin. "Though what's he doing with so much ice?"

"Shaved ice," Grumpcry says. "It's something from his hometown he brought over here."

"Huh."

"Um, do you think we should just leave her in the freezer for now?"

You stand up and shriek at Grumpcry. You might've been a snow fox, but you still needed air, and if you were locked in the freezer, you would die because of a lack of it. So for that little slight, and as something to put him in his place, you shoot a bit of powdered snow at his face. It was a full hit. Although it doesn't do much, it's enough for him to shield his face and rub his nose.

"What was that for?"

"You want to trap me in here and kill me."

"No I don't, I never said-"

"Okay," Spikemom says, patting your head. "I think he just wanted you to keep cool. He's not that kind of Pokemon."

"Exactly." Grumpcry blinks and sneezes. Good. He's learnt his lesson.

"Maybe we should just take the whole tub, so we can still take you around." Spikemom smiles. "How does that sound?"

Her voice is a bit rough, but nevertheless comforting to your sensitive ears. You agree to go along with her for now as she picks up the drawer, letting you rest with the ice bags. Finally, she takes you to the living room and sets you on the furniture as she's by your side. Grumpcry sits far away from you, but next to her. The two seem to be close, as Spikemom has her regular arm around him, though you don't understand why. Spikemom clearly wears the blue pants in this relationship.

"Now, how about some TV?" she says.

You say nothing and just watch her press the buttons. The black box turns white first, like the snowstorms of the mountains, but it quickly turns into images. It flicks back and forth between many different scenes so fast, you can't keep up with it. Finally, they settle on a set of moving drawings with sounds, which is boring, because it's not real. Spikemom takes another swig.

"This brings back a lotta memories," she says. "You still watch this stuff?"

You sit up, preparing to answer (although you don't know what's going on) when Grumpcry takes over.

"Well, yes, actually. It might be a little childish, but I still tune in every now and then."

"Eh, I ain't knocking it. Sometimes, I sneak into the movies to watch their latest flick, so it's a bit of dumb fun."

"I can imagine your aura helps a lot with that."

"Yeah." Another swig. "They don't care. But hey-" She takes a newfound interest in what's on screen. There's a drawing of a boy with a cap. "Is he still ten after all this time?"

"Who knows? Anime logic. That's not even the weirdest part. Every time they start a new series, he keeps losing, and even when he tries his best in the league, he still messes up."

"Didn't some people get really _pissed_ off at X and Y?"

"Yes, when his Greninja lost to a Charizard, of all things."

" _Taurshit!"_ She waves her can at the air, spilling some on the floor. "It's like, what's the point? You could do a much better job than these hacks and you're a freakin' Pokemon!"

"No I couldn't."

"Oh c'mon, you used to do that stuff all the time, don't you remember?"

"Not really." Grumpcry frowns. "My memory is still spotty."

"Ha. Sorry." She pats his head. "We'll get there soon, I promise."

He smiles for once at that, but you aren't really engaged in the conversation. They keep talking about what they're watching while a lot of it goes over your head. Spikemom should be paying attention to you and Grumpcry should be learning from you, but they don't even notice you're there. Instead, they talk about boring stuff. You growl to try and get their attention.

"Hey," Spikemom says, patting your head. "What's up?"

"Bored."

"Yeah, we're just talking over this stupid show at this point. What do you wanna watch?"

"Don't want to watch. Want to play."

"Hmm," Grumpcry mutters. "Tony keeps a few board games in his room that we sometimes play. I could get those out."

"No!" you say, standing up from your freezer bed. Not that you know what a board game is, but with board in the name, you know you don't like it already.

"I don't think that sort of stuff's for her," Spikemom says. She rubs her paws together. "I think she's more into the playfight sort of thing."

"Yes!" You turn to Grumpcry. "You will see who's the best!"

"W-wait, nobody said we're fighting here yet!" Grumpcry sits up. "Besides, we can't do it in his apartment!"

It doesn't matter whether it's indoors or outdoors. The outdoors are too hot. This is the perfect environment.

"Spikemom," you say, widening your eyes just like you would in a usual battle to lower the opponent's guard. She wouldn't say no to a cute fox, right?

"Those Baby Doll Eyes won't work on me, Pixie," she says. You're about to growl when she grins. "But go nuts. Grumpcry, Pixie, you two go in the kitchen."

"You can't be serious," he says, but you've already made your mind up. You leap out of the ice box and strut to the room of edibles to face the Luxray. You straighten your back to prepare for battle, except there's one thing missing: your trainer. There is no one to guide you in battle this time. No matter. You are the best fox in this world, and you will show that as you best this lion.

Even though you only know three moves.

"This is pointless," Grumpcry says as he enters the battlefield. "She's only a Vulpix."

You puff your cheeks. Yes, you are a Vulpix, but you're the best Vulpix around.

"Yeah, but we are babysitting her," Spikemom says with a grin. "She's a guest of honour, y'know."

"But this is my house!"

"Your trainer's house, so it ain't your problem. Besides, I'd love to trash that stupid trainer's place for once." Spikemom holds out the icebox and turns it upside down, dropping the ice cubes all over the floor. The previously cool kitchen turns into a glacial fortress, much like the one back on the mountains.

"Why are you encouraging her?!" Grumpcry yells, pawing at Spikemom's leg. "It's my neck on the line if Tony comes back to this place in ruins!"

"Fight me!" you say, planting your paws firmly on the slippery ground. "I will show you what it means to be an alpha!"

Grumpcry grumbled. "What did you just say?"

"You're an omega!"

At that moment, Grumpcry charges towards you with a Volt Tackle, but he slips and slides across the kitchen floor. You are already acclimated to ice, so you dodge to the side with ease. Grumpcry, however, slides into a shelf, sending lots of plates falling to the floor. It shatters before you like hard snow.

"Oh..." Grumpcry groans. "O-oh no..."

"Well _damn_ ," Spikemom says, crossing her arms. "I didn't expect that. You alright, Grumpcry?"

"Y-yes," he says, getting to his paws. "I think."

It's your turn. As soon as he stands up, you open your mouth and summon the glacial energy within you to shoot an ice shard at him. It hits him square on the head, bouncing off of him with a THWACK.

"Oof," he groans, falling to his side. "Why did I agree to this again?"

"Get up, Grumpcry!" Spikemom says, pumping her metal fist in the air. "Show her your mettle!"

"Metal? You're the Steel type, what's metal got to do with-"

You roar, which would usually scare lesser opponents, but it comes out as a tiny squeak. Spikemom tries not to laugh, and you almost growl at her, but Grumpcry gets up to his feet and roars back. It's much louder and it rings through your ears, dazing you. You lose your footing and slip on the floor, flat on your belly.

"This is your last warning!" Grumpcry says. "I don't want to hurt you, but you're pushing my buttons!"

You get up and shake the fear off your coat. "You don't have buttons. You have fur."

"I know, but-" He shakes his head. "Never mind. Let's end this." Sparks fly from his fur, making yours stand up on end. He fills the whole room with electrical energy, so much so, the light at the top fizzles out. Somehow, you don't feel weakened by this, even as he's about to attack, but you feel energised. In fact, something bursts from within you, like some sort of hidden power. You open your mouth and a wind starts howling.

Snow spews out of your maw like an avalanche, covering the whole room in ice. Grumpcry tries to dodge out of the way, but is caught in the blast and his fur freezes up, getting him stuck to the ground. The plates fly everywhere, even out of the room and out the windows.

"Oh _shi-"_ Spikemom dodges out of the way of a plate, which shatters where she once stood. You want to stop, and so you close your mouth, but you can't. It's like snow vomit, or whatever people call it. You don't know how long it lasts, but eventually, the storm within you subsides and you fall to the floor. You would be knocked out cold if your body wasn't already like a walking bag of ice to begin with.

The room around you is covered in ice. The Luxray is completely still, encased in the same stuff as well, but his eyes are still moving anyway. He'll thaw out eventually. You don't know where Spikemom is, but you're too tired to think about that. Having satisfied yourself on a good fight after a surge of power, you close your eyes and drift off to sleep.

–

You wake up when something knocks from far away. Despite all of the mess around the two, Spikemom goes to investigate on her own, leaving you curled up in the middle of Grumpcry's bed. Something creaks, and you hear voices from far away.

"Oh, hey." It's Skysong. You get out of bed immediately and run towards her, pawing at her leg.

"It took you ages!" you say.

"It only took me a few hours." She kneels down and pets you like the good fox you are. "But I found out a way to get home." She picks you up and turns to Spikemom "Thanks for taking care of her. I think I can carry her with me safely from now on since it's cooler."

" _Hehe, thanks,"_ Spikemom says. " _It was fun havin' her here."_

"Well, I appreciate it," Skysong says. "C'mon, Pixie. I'll need you to lead the way."

She puts you back on your feet, and you watch as Skysong waves goodbye. Spikemom winks at you and does the same, before the door closes and you're left alone with your trainer once more. You walk her through the maze of concrete, yipping so she doesn't lose her way. You are a good fox, and you will help Skysong in return for giving you what you truly deserve: cuddles and a new harness. But mostly a new harness.

* * *

 **Tony Lefevre**

Having signed out of the conservation centre, you start heading home. It isn't a long way and the night breeze is nice; not too cold for your summer uniform. There's still a lot of bustle in Ambrette, as the Mantine handlers by the coast are hollering in the air as they're riding their Pokemon through the seas, and there are a few tourists coming out from the various pubs in town. Generally though, there is that sense of unquietness that follows you around until your thoughts stop to ruminate on the past events.

You have a Luxray named Shine. You know this, but you scarcely think of the Luxray as your Pokemon, but rather, your… Well, friend isn't quite the right word. You don't go out with him very often, as you're mostly at work, and when you're home, you mostly provide for him and try to lift him up. Shine isn't the sort of Pokemon to socialise much, but somehow, you sense he'll get better over time. The Lucario coming back into his life will help at least, even though she seems wary of your responsibilities over him as a trainer. You can't help that, and besides, you're just a trainer in name only. You went through the same exams a trainer had to go through to get their license, which cost a lot, but you've never had a single battle with him around. It's a far cry from the rose-tinted fantasy the games and anime portrayed, taken over by something a lot more mundane.

Are you disappointed? Not really. If you wanted to take on that lifestyle, you would've done so as a kid. Your parents wouldn't have thought any less of you, and to this day, after the struggles you went through to get to your position, they still don't. They still call you, and even though they're back in their homeland on Alola, they're proud of you, and you feel the same towards them. You don't feel so alone. In the temporary moments where you get Shine to come out of his shell for a little bit, you don't feel that alone either.

But the sensation that something's missing nags at you. It follows you around like a thundercloud and doesn't leave you.

Deep down, you are alone. You give more than you take with Shine, and since he broke down and started telling his story, this documentary business has consumed you. Most waking moments outside the centre, you spend interviewing, researching and editing for the footage, over one or two years, and it's still not close to being done. He's too blocked up to give the full picture about GeL, other than occasionally breaking down and revealing a certain tidbit he had previously repressed. Then, was all of this effort for nothing? What can Curio provide for him that you can't, since you've known him for a latter part of his life? She's a part of his history, but you are too. He should be able to open up to you by now.

And so, you spend so much time trying to tie up loose ends that you end up spending less time with your human friends. Especially Ines. You know she likes you. She shares her lunch with you sometimes and has a hand in distributing some of your marine videos. She doesn't need to do that, and yet she wants to. But you haven't had a night out with her in ages, not even for a little drink. So you just drink at home and forget the what-ifs and could've beens.

You stop to gaze at the last of the setting sun and take a deep breath. You're stressing out too much. This isn't like you. Then, you suddenly entertain the thought that Shine's doing this on purpose, so you can baby him for however long he pleases.

Look at you, blaming the victim. How pathetic. No, you will be the adult and suck it up. It's not his fault, and you should be there for him. You have a responsibility to take care of your Pokemon. Not just your Pokemon, but possibly, the one you care for the most above everyone else, for better or for worse. You want to see him smile more. You want him to move on with his life and see that the grass is greener. He knows it deep down, as you've seen him do good work for Ambrette's community. You just need to be patient and let him know Shine has his place in the world, even as a misfit Pokemon.

Deep breaths. This hill is always really steep, isn't it? At least it gives you enough exercise outside of your rescue dives. But home is not far from here. You forget about the baggage you had before and make the way back to the apartment complex, up the familiar series of steps and up to the second floor. You fiddle with the keys until you pick the right one, and open the door to the familiar comforts of your house.

Your house that has bits of ice and porcelain everywhere.

Somehow, you don't even react to it, even though your property is in shambles. There's something whirring in the distance, and you go to investigate, treading carefully in your flip flops through the road of broken plateware. It's coming from the kitchen. You reach the source of the noise to find Curio thawing Shine out with a blowdryer, being powered by Shine's tail. Your Luxray is stuck to the floor. Repeat, your Luxray is stuck to the floor. Shine's eyes widen, even though most of his face, save for his mouth, is encased in ice.

"Oh. Hello," Shine says blankly.

Curio turns around, completely nonplussed. "Yo."

Your apartment is a mess, your Pokemon has literally been iced, and your windows are broken. You take a deep breath and break this down, bit by bit, as you try not to crack. Slowly, you reach out to the fridge, budge open the frosted door, take a can of ice-cold beer out and down it in one gulp. With a hiccup, you place it on the slippery counter and rub your head.

"You two. We're going to have a very long talk."


	29. On The Inside Listening Out

After that incident, I emerged from that ball into the facility again, and Henry took my paw to lead me through the quarantine room to the halls, firmly, but gently. I looked to the other security staff, who were all thinking different things. One hoped their Glameow didn't claw up the furniture. Another hoped they got back home in time to see their kids away from the facility. One just hoped they could treat themselves to a hot bath once they got to their apartment. So many different thoughts of strangers trickled in, I didn't know what to do with them all. I wanted to talk with them proper to find out, but the Machamp led me back into the familiar, florally-painted corridors before I could stop to ask. Even more random thoughts from the mediators, both human and Pokemon. Oh, that's a new look for her. Oh, what trouble has she gotten into now? Before I could process them, I was dropped into one of the tutorial rooms.

It had a round table with a few chairs around them, and there, Azzy, Lucy, and a T-shirt wearing Lucario sat at the front. While I had seen the Lucario in a few places, I never really got introduced to him, though I was always curious to get to know him. His features were different from what I expected, since they were quite jagged and scruffy even for our kind. While they all sat at appropriate heights, Azzy just stood on the table. All of their gazes were inviting, but their thoughts said otherwise, as if they were going through the motions of breaking another freshly-evolved mind reader in. Crap, I did it again. I didn't even move until Henry tapped my back; I was that lost in my own head space.

"Please," Lucy said, "sit down."

They all nodded, and warily, I sat down on the hard metal chair, finally able to after being so small before. I guess it felt like a milestone in a way.

"So," the Lucario said, grinning, "How's it feel to be one o' us? I know the answer, but go ahead."

"Feels," I started, then paused, bringing my paw to my face. "Scary. Who are you?"

The jagged Lucario stood proudly and did a playful little curtsy. "Rhode's the name. Aura's me game. Don't wear it out."

"Oh please," Lucy said. "Save it until after the meeting to act like that."

"A'ight, whatever." He sat back down and straightened himself. I couldn't help but read into his emotions again. His heart rose whenever Lucy spoke to him for whatever reason. I would've read further into it but he shot me a sly grin. "You're doin' it again."

"Sorry!" I squealed. "I'm not used to it!"

"Nah, I'm just pullin' yer leg. Seriously, though, you can read thoughts!" He waved his paws up. "Innit great?"

"No! Back there, it just felt too much, like I had no control over my own thoughts, and now, it still feels weird! That's not my fault, is it?"

"O' course not. Why d'you think I'm here then? To try an' help you. From now on, I'll be takin' over that blue stuffed bunny as yer tutor, where aura's concerned anyway."

"I prefer Azumarill, thank you very much," Azzy said, fiddling with the chalk in his paw, ready to fire. "Of course, Curio, you can come to me or Mack at any time if you need help with personal issues out of lessons."

"And what about my focus?"

"All taken care of," Rhode said. "Right, Lulu?"

"Don't call me Lulu," she said with a glare. "In any case, if you're still fine with the idea of sculpting, from what Henry told us, then you'll be taken into the soft-room with Rhode to try and sort out your mind-reading issues. You'll be given a schedule in a week. Feel free to visit the library for anything on the topic. Preferably DVDs or manuals."

I nodded, satisfied with my options. Before I could question anything else, Rhode rose from his seat and took my paw, leading me through the winding corridors past the other mediators. I tuned out their thoughts in favour of trying to read into his. I got a little scrap of info: something about Cartwright's inability to walk in his old age, but his aura was surprisingly resistant, like he had been training it for ages.

"Hey, invasion o' privacy," he said.

"Sorry, sorry. I can't help it. Please don't be mad."

"And why's that? Your only crime is bein' curious. Curio. Curious. You're pro'ly gonna get that a lot, aren't you?"

I nodded, thinking back to Lexy's comment.

"Still, I ain't gonna bust yer balls over somethin' like that. I'm not like 'em, after all. Think o' me as the cool teacher."

"Right." Not that I had any balls, but still.

He took me into a room with all sorts of padded equipment: vaults, sponge mats, training dummies, and all the like. I had been in there a few times during one of Reggie's classes, but not in this situation, and thankfully alone with my new Lucario tutor that time. He brought a rubber Hitmonlee to the middle of the room and patted its soft head.

"Now, the fun part o' this exercise is ta just let your instincts run free. Which amounts to beatin' the tar outta this thing with yer aura. Since it's yer first time, I'll walk it through ye, okay? Try enterin' something you feel comf'table with."

I remembered Trunks' training and stood on one paw with one spiked hand raised to the dummy.

"Now, draw from yer own body, like so." He brought his hands to his belly, and charged up a tiny blue sphere before it went poof. I did exactly the same, except it was much bigger, just about the size of a medicine ball.

"Fire!" Which I did. The sphere exploded against the dummy, flinging it to the other side of the room with a satisfying crash. A part of me felt at ease; beating up crap felt good every once in a while.

"Not bad! Now, that was a bit big, so much so I'd say you're compensatin' for something, but that's a good first step."

I nodded, feeling gratified I had my aura powers to fight with, at least. When I was a Riolu, it was about as scrawny as I was, so now I could've turned it into something useful at last, that was a bit of a relief. Still, the big aura thing was something I clearly had to iron out.

"Now, let's try that a few more times." He reached over to me and changed parts of my stance to something of his making, something that wasn't as flashy as Trunks' stance but something that could still be used in a fighting situation. Then, he told me to do a few more aura reps, and so, I kept shooting at the Hitmonlee. With each hit of those big aura spheres, it wobbled back and forth on a spring, but still stayed put, taking whatever punishment I doled out. After a while, I kind of felt sorry for the poor sod, but then realised how stupid it was to feel for a dummy, and just kept doing as Rhode said. With each rep, my body felt more and more drained, until I ran out of breath and had to sit by the side.

"Hmm," Rhode said, "it's really doing a number on ye, ain't it?"

"Yeah-" I said in between gasps of air, "I dunno- what to do."

"Eh, you'll figure it out. 'ere, catch."

Without warning, he threw a Leppa berry at me, but I caught it just before it hit my nose. That was lucky, since Leppas are hard. If I didn't have my aura senses, I would've needed a rhinoplasty or something to fix my nose.

 **(Or heal it at the Pokemon centre like you did with your arm.)**

Yeah, that too, but surgery sounds funnier. Anyway, I chomped down on it, and in time, I came back to speed again. Just to test it out, I threw another sphere at the dummy, but again, it was still large and drawing out more energy from my body than usual.

"Okay, okay, let's try somethin' different," Rhode said, picking at his ears. "We've got plenty of time to work on that, but I guess you wanna know how to control yer aura 'round others, don't you?"

I remembered how I felt being in a crowded place, and I nodded.

"A'ight then." He approached me and put his paw on my shoulder, grinning widely. "I wanna do a lil' experiment."

I thought back to what P.Z. said about the Mewtwo being born from an experiment and cringed. I didn't even need to say anything for him to pick up on it.

"Don't worry, not that kind of experiment. A social experiment. We won't be locking ye in liquid pods or whatever."

I crossed my arms. "Invasion of privacy," I repeated.

"Yeah, and I'm yer teacher, so bite me." He chuckled as he ruffled my spiky hair. "Just kiddin'. Now, come along, I got a surprise for ye."

So, the surprise didn't end up being a cake or anything like that, but a woman in her 20s, who had glasses and her hair pinned back, so you could tell she meant business. We met up in one of the study rooms where she stared at a stack of library books, until Rhode came along and tapped her back. She turned around, surprised at first by us two Lucario, until she adjusted her glasses and recognised the T-shirt wearing quack.

"Oh, it's you," she said. It surprised me at first that he seemed to be well-known with the humans, but that thought didn't linger long as Rhode tapped my back in turn.

" _Congrats, er, whatsyourface, you've been chosen for me raffle."_

"What raffle?"

 _"One I just made up, but anyway, 'ere's Curio! You might know 'er from before as a Riolu, an' now a freshly evolved Lucario."_

I didn't know what to say until he elbowed my shoulder. _"Um, hi."_

The young woman stared back at Rhode. "Uh, is this going to take long? I need to start revising for one of the lectures."

" _Nah, it won't. Just talk to 'er for a bit and see what 'appens."_

"Alright, fine." She closed one of the books and looked back to me, putting on a fake smile even though her mind was somewhere else. "So, Curio? I don't really know much about you, but I've seen you doodle in class a lot."

" _With the blue rabbit?"_

"Yes, the language assistant." She gave another false smile. "I bet you think of yourself as quite the artist, don't you?"

She tried to sound sincere, but through her words and her aura, something about her was quite different. She was hiding a bit, and didn't seem to say that because she was interested, like Lexy was, but only said it to tell me what I wanted to hear. So, I shrugged it off.

" _Nah, not really. You're just sayin_ _g_ _that. I know your aura."_

She coughed and tried to change the subject. "Whatever. I'm just trying to find something to talk about, since he clearly wants me to. I honestly just want to get a move on with my assignment.

I glanced at him while he smirked, still trying to egg us on. In turn, I tried to find something of interest to her as well by zooming into her thoughts. Some of it wasn't clear, as she still tried to hide herself through a mask of sincerity, but beyond the worries about classes and assignments, I saw, well, an actual face mask. There was a scene of her looking at a mirror in the shower, nervously tugging at the lip part on her face with something waxy. So seeing that, galaxy-brain me blurted this out:

" _What wax do you use for your mustache?"_

She covered her mouth reflexively. It didn't really sink in, but when it did, her face turned bright red, like her inner fire-type awakened itself. I heard snickering from behind as Rhode stifled himself with his paw. Then, I got the feeling I said something I shouldn't have.

" _Um, sorry,"_ I said, " _did I—"_

"Excuse me," the student said, wringing her hands around a thick book. "Maybe you two should get out, or else I'm telling Lucy you tried to distract me from my work."

" _Will do,"_ he replied with a wide smile, "a _n' thanks for bein' my lab Rattata."_

"You're such an ass, Rhode."

So, Rhode grabbed my paw and led back into the hallway. I was speechless, and building up steam inside me. I didn't know what I did wrong, but I clearly saw something there I shouldn't have, and knew exactly who pushed me into it. Rhode just stood there with that shit-eating grin, trying his best not to burst into laughter. I couldn't stand that, so I shoved him away.

"Woah-ho, steady there!" he said in that same mocking tone. "C'mon, you 'ad to admit that was funny."

"No it wasn't!" I shouted, drawing the attention of some of the passing subjects. "She was upset, and you knew this whole time, all because of this stupid aura thing!"

"Well, okay." He shrugged. "Maybe I went a bit too far. But what's the takeaway from that?"

"Takeaway from what, looking like a _shithead_ in front of the humans?"

Rhode approached me again, and I was ready to fight him again, but instead, he tapped my forehead.

"Yer aura training. Doesn't take a genius to figure out what this is for. So whaddo you think 'appens when you look into other people's thoughts without asking, or knowin' what you're getting into?"

I thought back to the things I saw in her mind and how she reacted when I brought up the truth. It clearly wasn't meant for other people's eyes, and yet, I did the exact thing I wouldn't have wanted another Lucario to do: to read out my unwanted thoughts. So, I tugged on my aura sensors, which flopped behind my head instead of on the side as a Riolu.

"People would get mad. And I'd get mad."

"Yeah, but you also 'ave a choice over yer own aura. You can choose how big you want yer spheres to be, or how deep you want to go into someone's filthy, smelly noggin. 'specially with humans. The stuff they come up with is something else, though, ech, you were lucky with 'er—" he elbowed me again, "but don't put that past me if you ever read into my mind."

"Yeah, I ain't doing that."

"There, you see?" He patted me on the back, giving a proud smile for once instead of a mirror-breaking one. "It's about self control, y'know. And this year, you'll 'ave to make plenty more choices than what you're used to, but that's something great, innit?" He tugged at his own shirt. "I can choose to wear this thing, even though it ain't the best for me kind, but I just wanna. It's great to 'ave something that says you're you, right?"

"Like my drawings, or this thing." I ran my paw through the tuft of fur at the top of my head.

"Yeah, somethin' a lot of us Pokemon don't have. But enough ramblin'." He took my paw. "I guess I should treat you to somethin'. It's the least I can do for embarrassin' you out there, a'ight?"

I looked back to the study room, wanting to read into the aura of that student, but chose not to. I had control over my own powers after all. And for the first time since I came back, I managed to block out the thoughts of all the other students in the facility and just focused on my own. It was like opening a window and airing out a room of all its bad smells, though having said that, there weren't really any windows in GeL; just vents. But anyway, despite everything, I saw Rhode in a new light as he led me through the facility. Though Trunks' face was smoother, I imagined him as a brother, even though I had plenty of those. I wonder what it would've been liked if I had another sister as well.

 **(She'd probably push you off a tree.)**

Yeah, guess I never had that sort of sibling rivalry. But anyway, Rhode led me to the staff room to talk over cookies and cocoa, and that was all great. Except, on the way there, we passed by a certain yellow devil, levitating a stack of door-stopping books behind his head. He sneered at my newly evolved form.

"Ah, I see you have changed," Abraxas said. "Though still as puny as ever, I see."

I looked to Rhode, who just stood on the sidelines while I was in the fray. I guess he wanted to see how I dealt with the Kadabra, though he still could've stepped in to help. I tried to get the edge over him by scanning his aura, but his psychic field blocked me from doing anything. So I just settled for the best comeback I could muster.

"And still as much of a _shithead_ as ever," I said. Okay, not a bad try, but not exactly great either.

"Only fools resort to such vulgar human language." He got closer to me, so much so, I felt his psychic field. I instinctively backed away, though he still tried to close in on me. "You and that stray mongrel, P.Z."

"Leave him out of this," I said, aura swirling from within me. "He's cool."

"Cool does not matter. You are either civil or a wildling." He turned his nose up at me, looking even more smug. "And either way, you will still be a fool. Only fools go for the arts and not the refined sciences. Humans choose those subjects and end up working in cafes for the rest of their meagre lives. They are like you wildlings in a way, just wasting space."

"W-well," I stammered, trying to regain my footing, "I bet you don't even have an artsy bone in your body. I'd rather have those than be a really boring _ass_ like you!"

"Oh-ho, boring? I beg to differ. I came her for an important purpose, so I can hardly say I'm boring. You, however, have no business being here. Run off to your own wild family. Oh, wait, you can't!" He guffawed, bashing his fist on the floor while he kept his books in the air. "I—" He tried to say in between bursts of laughter, "I bet they're dead already!"

 **(Woah, low blow.)**

Yeah, right? God, what a complete douchenozzle! I should've been upset, but that just got me into the fighting spirit. I entered a battle stance, and Ab did the same, dropping his books. I might as well call him Ab since Abraxas' getting a tad long, but whatever. Anyway, Rhode stepped between us, holding both his arms out for us to stop. "'ey! I ain't 'aving this 'ere!"

"But-but-" I stuttered, trying to wrap my head around the situation. "He—"

"A'ight, just calm yer tatas, I'll deal with this."

I didn't have any, of course, but that distracted me enough for me to get out of my battle position. So I watched the way Rhode approached Ab and to my surprise, he grabbed his arm, twisting it.

"Ah, ah!" Ab yelped in pain. Even though I still reeled from that verbal smack-down, I still got a kick out of watching him squirm.

"You got some balls talkin' to her like that," Rhode said. "You think you're hot _shit,_ don't ya?"

"T-teacher! You can't—"

"Yeah, I know I ain't allowed, and I don't care. 'sides, you try to use Psychic against me here and it's a one way ticket back to whatever heap you came from."

"No, I won't! I want to stay here!"

"Good." He let go of Ab's arm, which he nursed. "And about the wildling stuff, you came from the woods as well, didn't you? You know what they say, those who live in glass 'ouses—"

"I get your point!" Ab scrambled on the floor to pick up his books and teleported out of the hallways. I just stood there, at a loss for words again. When Rhode clapped his paws together and faced me, that snapped me out of it.

"Thanks, teach!" I said. "What's his problem, anyway?"

"Well, he's got a lot on his plate." He winked at me. "But if he ever teases you with that wildling stuff again, just use the same ammunition I gave you here. He'll be stuck like a Slaking bathin' in molasses."

After that, the rest of the week flew by without much trouble. Ab didn't bother me for the most part, but he must've felt a little bit vengeful since he teleported some of my sketchbooks and stuff out of the wild base. It turned up somewhere else eventually so I didn't think to butt in at that time. With that said, it was time for my focus sessions not long after.

 **(So, what did these sessions entail?)**

Okay, so the focus days ran alongside the regular lessons. We still learnt the human tongue, maths, and other basic skills and trivia crap, but these were the most fun to me. So, this will be covering, like, weeks, maybe months worth of classes, but bear with me here.

So, Azzy took me to this room, which was small, had many tools either lying about or propped up on walls, as well as various odd materials like wires and bits of paper sticking out of the boxes. While he was there to accompany me, the oddest thing was that there were two humans there: one youngish girl who was probably in her 20s, like Lexy, and one older woman. They looked at us with surprise first, and then enthusiasm. The girl stood up, barefoot in dungarees for some reason, and went up to greet me.

"Oh, you're the Lucario I'll be working with?"

I looked to Azzy, who gave a faint nod, then back to her.

" _Um, yeah?"_

"Great!" She held out her hand and smiled. "I'm Ellie! It'll be nice to be friends with you!"

Before I shook it, I scanned her aura, since I still wasn't used to human interaction on that level. Still, like Lexy, she seemed genuine, so I shook her hand in turn.

"Alright," the woman said, gesturing to the chairs. "You two best get seated. I'll run you through what we're doing, first of all."

The teacher introduced herself as a sculptor at Veilstone University, though her life story wasn't really much to write home about. After that, she basically gave us an ice-breaking exercise where she gave us a huge wad of claw to play about with, in the hopes of moulding out each others faces. I pawed at the material. It felt weird with my grubby mitts, and obviously, it wasn't natural for me to be using it at all. Ellie gave me a thumbs up though, seeing how nervous I was.

"It'll be fine!"

I nodded. If I could've help a pencil just fine, I probably could've sculpted the same way as well. So I focused on pinning down Ellie's features. They were soft, well rounded, and still looked sort of kiddy despite being a bit older. The face worked well for me in that regard. But then there was the hair, which looked messy, and some of it covered her eyes, so occasionally, she had to brush it away. It was hard for me to work with at first, but I knew how to break down a head into shapes after all that time I spent drawing. I got bored a lot and liked my own company, so that meant I learnt a lot just by doing it. I just starting kneading the clay like kneading a bit of dough into bread, if I even knew what that felt like.

Ellie didn't seem to have much problem copying my head. She'd hold up two of her fingers to get some of my features down, like I would whenever I drew the other subjects, so I did the same with her. That helped round out some of the features a bit more. But there was one point where she asked something odd.

"Can you turn your head up for me a sec?"

I shrugged and did exactly that.

"So, I always thought Lucario had like a big jaw as well, but now, I see it's just the nose that's big. How odd!"

I tilted my head down and grunted.

" _My nose is fine."_

"Yeah, I know!" Ellie said, shaping a nose out of her own material. "But I think it makes you look cool! It's different! Unique! Expressive!"

" _All Lucario have this."_

"But, hmm." She chewed on a loose strand of hair. "I dunno. You seem different somehow, like with your green eyes! They're sparking with life right now, like some kind of gem, or something!"

That, I felt a bit flattered by. I smiled.

" _They're mama's. She had one green and one red eye."_

"So, they're your mom's eyes? Wonderful!" She kept chewing on her hair. It bugged me for whatever reason, but whatever.

I shrugged and focused on making the model. Ellie hummed a tune to herself, loudly. I didn't know whether I was annoyed or found her energy contagious. I worked faster and didn't talk much after that, but once the teacher told us to stop, we presented our work to each other.

Ellie's work was a bit rough, but she got the face, the nose and the ears right. The eyes, especially, looked alive even though it was made out of something inanimate. When I looked at mine, however, I felt a bit deflated. All of the features were lopsided, and the shapes were all wrong, despite how much work it took my paws to try and mould them that way. Reluctantly, I presented my work to everyone else.

" _Um, how bad is it?"_ I asked.

"No, no, it's not bad at all!" Ellie said. "For a Pokemon, it's fantastic!"

I growled at her, making her flinch. Her aura didn't seem malicious, so her heart was probably in the right place, but I knew I was being damned with faint praise.

" _But for a human, it's crap? That's what you're sayin'?"_

"No." She touched her cheek, which flushed red. "That's not what I meant."

I sighed. I wasn't going to get anywhere by dwelling on it, so I laid the clay face down.

"Right, then." The teacher observed the two sculptures. "That's what separates a human's work from a Pokemon's work. We can't treat them as one of the same."

" _Why am I here, then?"_ I asked with a pang of anger. _"I came here to learn to be like you."_

"Let me finish." She held her hand up. "It's unfair to expect you to create work like us immediately. Can you lend me your paws, please?"

I didn't know whether she meant that figuratively or literally, though the literal one probably would've been really bloody, but I held them up, allowing her to massage it with her hands. It felt weird, like having a tiny Joltik crawl on them, yet that human touch always felt strangely comforting.

"Yes, these would be very hard to control. How did it feel when you first tried to model something with them?"

" _Couldn't get a grip,"_ I said. _"Didn't feel like there was much I could do with them."_

"I see." She gently let go and went over to the whiteboard to write down a plan. "Right, then the first thing we'll teach you is how to make the most out of your abilities. If you can hold a pencil, you can hold sculpting tools as well, as they will do a lot of the work for you. A large part of these will be learning to work within your limits, so you can eventually work like a human. Does that sound clear?"

I nodded. I didn't know what her deal was, but she seemed to have a lot of experience with that sort of thing. I looked to Ellie, who chewed on a braid nervously.

"Sorry," she said. "I shouldn't have said that, really. I know the feeling when people are trying to avoid saying something bad about your work."

I grunted a reply. She held out her hand.

"I don't wanna start on a bad note, y'know. So, why don't we start over and work together from now on?"

It seemed genuine, and I didn't want to dwell on it any longer, so I returned the handshake.

But you get the gist of it. I got a handle on some of those tools in the first week, like clay knives and such, and learned how to mould basic shapes from there. The next month or so was just learning about all the different processes and the workflows and all that. I don't remember much of it now, to be honest, and good riddance, because it would probably be boring to you. But I knew I cherished those sessions, since they only came once a week, and would look forward to the next one.

So, over time, I got more used to talking to humans. Sure, I could already speak their language pretty decently, but I was also getting used to what their world was like and how I fit into the picture. So, that Ellie girl. This one time, during break, I had lunch in the cafeteria along with the rest of my group. It was pretty much a melting pot of all the most sociable subjects coming together, with most of my team hanging out with the domestic base, but with a few outcasts. Ab, M and that Gastly were all on their own. M was the only one I didn't exactly want to leave out, so I thought about talking to him again, but that changed when the conversation on our own table picked up.

"So," Floatsam said, excitedly banging his paw on the table, "we did this obstacle course thingy and we were all supposed to put out this fake fire, yeah, but I couldn't make it in time and the dummy ended up dying in the end, but it was really cool other than that, and-"

"Yo," Hans said, patting his back with his tail. "You're goin' too fast. Did you drink some of the human coffee again?"

"Bleh." The Floatzel stuck their tongue out. "Too bitter! Why would I do that?"

"Never mind." He shrugged and looked over to me. "So, create any masterpieces, lately?"

"Nope," I said, stabbing some of my food. "Still got a long way's to go."

"I bet you'll come out on top." He glanced to the Ponyta. "Hey, Ferny! Whatcha doin'?"

"History. We're reading about people killing each other. It's really interesting."

"Right." He grimaced and turned away. "Forget I asked."

"What people?" I asked, out of impulse.

"Sorry, I mean, we're reading about wars. I should've mentioned there's a lot more to it than just death."

"Try starting with that instead of the 'killing each other' thing next time," Hans said.

"I'm working on that," she said, blowing smoke out her nostrils.

"U-um," Shine said, struggling to get a word in, "what s-s-sort of war?"

"The Razzberry War was the last one. I'll tell you more about it later, if you wish."

Shine nodded. "I-It'd be v-very interesting to know about."

From the corner of my eye, I saw Ellie putting down her tray on one of the human tables, still not wearing shoes. She got a lot of weird looks for doing that, and from myself as well. I would've ignored her had it not been for Lexy, who sat opposite her. So, there they were: two of the humans I connected with the most. Since it had been a while since I talked to Lexy, I wanted to see what Ellie was up to. So I stood up.

"Hey," Hans said, "Where're you going?"

I looked towards the humans and winked at Hans.

"Um, okay." He grinned. "Guess you found a new boyfriend over there with that spiky-haired guy."

"What, no!" I said, trying to shake the mental image out of my head. "That's gross!" I quickly took my tray and walked towards the two humans, not wanting any more of Hans' Taurcrap. They looked at me, surprised. _"Can I join?"_

They cast glances at one another before shrugging.

"Of course," Lexy said. "Don't see why not."

I sat next to Ellie. I tried to get a peek into Lexy's aura, then I thought about that last encounter with the other student and stopped. Thankfully, he didn't seem to notice.

"So, I know we might've talked about this before, but how're you doing with your aura and stuff?"

" _Better,"_ I said with a smile. _"Rhode helps me if I dunno how to use it properly."_

"Oh yeah," he said, stabbing his salad, "that Lucario. He seems pretty cool, though some people don't seem to like him."

I thought of plenty of reasons why from the perspective of that human, but decided to press further. _"What does he do?"_

"Well, to be honest, I dunno." He took a mouthful of some lettuce and crunched down. "Heth a mythery. Juth hangth around."

I couldn't 100% tell what he said, but I got the gist of it and poked at the Magikarp fillet. The conversation went at a standstill from there, while I just ate my fill on some fish. Weirdly with Pokemon, I knew what to talk about next, but with another human, whose world was different from mine, I didn't know what to say. Then I got the urge to peek into his aura again, but this time, I acted on it while still keeping an eye out for any sudden thoughts. I sifted through the immediate ones, like 'I wanna know more about Ellie', then got to the deeper ones, like what he did in his home at Veilstone, and then how his old friends kept calling him to reform their band. That was news to me. I knew he played the guitar, and sometimes, he'd bring that in to play at the bonding sessions in the first year, but I didn't know he was on that level.

" _Sorry,"_ I said, pre-emptively, _"but do you have a band?"_

Lexy dropped his forkful of tomatoes, raising an eyebrow. "I wanted that to be a secret."

"Wait, what?" Ellie said, smiling. "No way, that's awesome!"

"Well..." He nervously took a sip from his water. "Look, it's not supposed to be this big thing. I don't wanna blab about it to anyone 'til we get it off the ground again."

" _Why not?"_ I asked, dumbfounded.

"Because it was supposed to be our thing, our pet project." His tone was a bit more severe, though he stopped himself before he could show it in his face. "Sorry. I just think if I say it's official before it's even started, that'll ruin the whole idea, if that makes sense. It's hard to put into words."

It didn't to me, but I could tell I dug up something he didn't want bringing to the table, even if it was innocent. So I slumped in my seat, unsure of what to say.

"Besides, I dunno if we'll do it for real. Since this whole GeL thing, everything's taken a back-seat to actually rehearsing and all that. I'm still getting into the flow of when my off-days are."

"Aw," Ellie said. "Shame. It's great you're doing that on the side, though. What do you play?"

"Guitar." He stabbed at his own salad and took a mouthful. "Though at least I get to practise when I'm in with Curio, since she likes that."

I opened my mouth to try and speak up, but Ellie spoke before I had the chance to.

"Awesome!" She patted the table. "Ooh, it'd be nice to catch you doing that here! I dunno how often you're in the facility."

"Every other day, so quite often. I'm doing the scholarship here, after all. Yourself?"

You get the idea. They talked about their availability, what they were doing at Veilstone, and what they were doing on the side as well. I think Ellie mentioned she worked part time at a cafe, but that went over my head. To me, that was a whole lot of human-related business, which I was cut out of for the most part. Even though I went to join in, any time I tried to speak, I'd usually be cut off, so I was the one playing third wheel in the end. Since my aura kind of flopped, I didn't want to use it to my advantage either. So I took my tray and went back to my own table, finishing off my lunch before the next session.

There was a certain longing in my heart for something. I had my Pokemon friends around me, sure, and talking with them was fine, but I felt completely out of my element when it meant talking on an equal level with humans. I wanted to get closer to them, but didn't know how. Throughout the next half of the focus session, when it came to making more clay models, I felt even more dis-attached from Ellie. She seemed confident, and yet, completely in her own world, but there I was: a Pokemon in a human's world. I just went through the motions of that session before I rested in the wild base. I didn't really want to talk about anyone else about it, since they'd probably find the human thing weird. It wasn't like I wanted to be guided by them; I wanted to be like them as well. But I kept trying, anyway, just to try and get on their level.

I met Lexy a few times after that with the usual sessions, apologised about reading his aura, and we seemed to get along just fine after that. So, another month passed. The human students were eating dinner for the last time before, as far as I knew, taking the private bus back to their own place. I never saw GeL from the outside, so I didn't know how that figured into anything.

But anyway, Lexy and Ellie were there again, and in that one month gap, I noticed a change in their auras. Ellie's was always bold and outgoing, while Lexy was a bit more guarded, but since then, he had opened his heart more. I heard more positive thoughts, such as 'when will I see her again?', and that felt more welcoming than the mask he put on. Once again, I took my tray over to their space, where they waved at me that time.

"Hey, Curio!" Ellie said. "Nice to see ya again!"

I smiled as I sat next to them. She looked at Lexy, who poked around his plate, and brushed past his leg with her bare feet.

"Hey, what're you—"

"Ahem."

She winked at him, and finally, he took the hint and looked over to me.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry. Ellie says you have a tough time getting involved mid convo."

" _Fine,"_ I said, crossing my arms. _"What are you doing?"_

"Just having dinner before I head home." He yawned. "Can't be bothered to cook, since it's like two hours away there."

"Ditto," Ellie said, twirling her spaghetti. "We're gonna go together though, aren't we?"

She brushed past his leg again.

"That feels really weird," he said, pulling himself back. "But yeah, we're just chilling at my flat, since she's close by."

" _Oh?"_ I said, cocking my head. _"What's a flat?"_

"Um, like an apartment: a small place you get to live in with others."

" _Just like here?"_

"Yeah, you could say that."

The conversation ended from there. I sat back, poking at the rest of my food while they ate theirs. That flat sounded interesting, but I didn't know how I'd find out what it was like for myself. I couldn't have just snuck out of the facility at any time and went to some random guy's place, could I? But it was worth a try.

" _Hey,"_ I asked, drawing their attention, _"can I come with?"_

Lexy almost choked on his cutlet mid-bite, but managed to pull himself together. "W-why?"

" _Dunno. Wanna see what you guys get up to. I only see you in the facility."_

"Right, I get that." He tensed up his shoulders. "But you know you can't just jump into it like that; they probably wanna keep a close eye on what you're doing."

" _Yeah, I know. But I really wanna hang with you guys. I…"_ I trailed off, getting a bit flustered at what I was about to say. _"Just wanna feel like a human, y'know."_

Lexy sighed and dug into his cutlet again. I could tell he was thinking about something, but I didn't know what, so I honed in my aura. He thought: 'Well, this is awkward. I just wanted to be alone with Ellie. I don't really want a Pokemon to be involved.' Right then, I kind of wish I hadn't read into it. I was about to say something when I looked to the girl, who smiled. If he wanted to hook up with her, then me parroting his thoughts over to Ellie wouldn't have done him any favours. As much as I wanted to be with them, I didn't just want to be a burden either.

" _Forget it,"_ I said, about to take my tray to my base's table. _"Just a stupid idea."_

"Hey, wait-" Lexy started, but I wasn't having any of it. From there, I just wanted to be back with my own kind and not have to worry about the same things humans did. The Ambipom was the only one there, as everyone else had finished up. Hans snickered from across the table, with berry juice all over his face.

"Aw, that fling didn't last long, did he?"

For that, I threw the last of my fillet at his head. "Shut up, fish face."

"Hehe, thanks for the free food." He happily munched on the Magikarp scrap. "Still, you're spendin' a lot of time with 'em."

"Well, duh." I rubbed my paws over my face, sighing. "I dunno. They think a bit too fast for me."

"Yeah, same. I ain't really used to talkin' to humans. Training might make things easier, I dunno."

I felt a bit disheartened that he'd chosen training out of all the other choices, but I didn't think to judge. I mostly just stewed in my own self pity from there and watched the two humans leave, running out of the cafeteria for the last bus. Seeing them go made my heart sink, but I just reminded myself that it was probably for the best. I didn't want to drag them down.

What brought me back to reality was Bolt, the Manectric tutor, entering the room. It was just him, at first, looking stern as ever. Then Shine joined him, bloody, bruised and in tears.


	30. Where the Sunbea(m)s End

Shine sighed and glanced at the corner of the room. This was inevitable. He knew he was going to have to talk about himself in more detail, and not just in the basics this time. Before, even though Tony tried to coax more information out of him, Shine only gave the essentials and not the full picture. With Curio here, he had no choice. It was time to talk about his past. Time to talk about the struggles he endured in the 2nd year. And time to talk about M.

With the click of a button, Tony stopped recording and knelt down to Shine, patting his head.

"Are you feeling alright?" he said.

" _Y-yes,"_ Shine stammered. Dammit, there was no point in being shaken up, but he couldn't help himself. _"It's just hard, thinking about it."_

"Okay, okay." Tony brought him in closer and cuddled him. "I don't want to force you to continue if you don't want to. I'm sure Curio will tell me the rest."

" _Ditto_ _to_ _that,"_ she said, standing up. _"I can keep going; it's no sweat."_

All of that soothed the burning sensation in his head. They were all trying to support him, and to know he wasn't alone in this was a great comfort to him. But he wasn't going to get anywhere if he kept running away from it, so he had to face the first big hurdle in his past eventually. Shine burrowed himself out of Tony's embrace and strutted towards the couch, confident in his stride.

"Are you sure?" Tony said.

" _Yes,"_ Shine said, jumping up to the interviewee's seat. _"I can at least try."_

"Alright." He smiled. "Well, if you can get outside the shot, Curio, that means I can get started."

Curio nodded and sat facing Shine, though she was a few paces away from Tony's directorial chair.

" _So, now it's time for Shine to, er, Shine,_ _h_ _ow's it feel to be on that couch?"_ Curio said.

Shine sighed. _"_ _Admittedly,_ _I'm a little nervous."_

"Don't be," Tony said. "Just remember what I told you."

" _Yeah,"_ Curio said. _"Talk to the guy and not the camera and stuff."_

" _Of course, I will. Thanks, you two."_ Shine smiled.

Tony put his hand on the control pad, ready to hit record, when his eyes lit up. "Hmm, I might have asked this before, but what was your focus, Shine?"

Shine would've turned red if he could. _"Well, er, I—"_

" _Writing,"_ Curio chimed in. _"He wanted to make stories of his own."_

"Oh." Tony took his hand off the camera and leered at Curio. She budged from her sitting position, clearly confused by his expression, but kept her back upright.

"That's not what Shine told me. He didn't say anything about studying writing. He just told me he continued learning through his lectures."

Curio frowned and crossed her arms. _"Okay, what have you been smoking? He definitely took an interest in writing, and he spent most of his time at GeL doing it. He didn't have his tail up his butt the whole time."_

"I never said that, but I just didn't know." His tone was hushed. Though there was a new hint of coldness to his mask, he shook it off and returned to his usual relaxed self. "Shine, how much do you remember about it now?"

Shine's heart beat twofold. He had always known at the back of his mind that he had chosen writing as a focus, so why didn't he mention it? He gulped, knowing what Tony's reaction might've been.

" _I-I don't know._ _Parts of it are coming back to me now, but I_ _knew I did it before."_ He rested his chin on the edge of the seat, looking up at Tony with a pleading eye. _"Sorry, I haven't been completely honest."_

Tony tapped his chin, his expression halfway between doubt and excitement, but again, shrugged it off and returned to the camera. "In any case, let's put that behind us and just tell me what you can for now. Are you ready?"

Although a tinge of guilt still nestled in his gut, Shine had to continue. He sat up, looking at the camera, and nodded.

"Okay, three, two, one."

* * *

 **(I'd love to touch base on what you did during your writing escapades, but I'm also curious to know what your relationship with Bolt was. I know you two weren't exactly on the best of terms, but like a lot of things, you told me about him in broad strokes. If you remember now, how did this start between you two?)**

Well, I'd have to go back to my hatchling days. As soon as you're born, you tend to imprint on the first thing you see, though you might grow out of it. In any case, the earliest memory I had was a pleasant one. I was even more weak as a newborn Shinx, barely able to walk on my own, and needing the staff to provide for a lot of my needs, so Bolt was there.

The first thing I saw was his bright blue fur sticking out, and although I could barely make out the world around me, I could see his face, at least. It was comforting, and had some sort of compassion in them still. As any parent would do to their own cubs, he nuzzled me, cleaned me with his tongue, and slept next to me whenever I needed to. I recognised him as my own parent, and bonded with him, as far as a newborn could understand what bonds were beyond instinct.

For a little while, I also saw my own biological mother outside the facility. A young Shinx still needed milk before going to solids, so the staff made sure to keep me close to her too on their trips out to the daycare. But she acted different from my tutor. Bolt carried himself with a human air, walking from place to place as if he had business to do, talking with the humans as equals, from what little I understood about human speech at that time.

However, she acted on her own instincts, had nothing to attend to, and could only speak to the humans through Bolt, and even then, she spoke in very short bursts. Ferals only need to utter a few things to communicate. Even though she was familiar as a Luxray, I couldn't recognise her face either. It's a complete blur to me now, and I'm sure she wouldn't recognise me if I came up to her today either. She only let me have her mother's milk because she was told to, not out of maternal instinct, and more obligation.

One day, she got too possessive and bit me while I tried to feed on her. That was the straw that broke the Numel's back, as they decided to wean me off her for good. Then they moved me back to the facility to bond with the GeL subjects. They made sure I was on the right track, wasn't getting myself into danger, and gave me a nutritious diet as well. I had everything a healthy Pokemon needed. And yet, I still didn't talk.

Bolt would usually nuzzle me, trying to get me to respond, but I just wasn't able to speak to him. I understood what he said, and could communicate non-verbally, but no words ever escaped my maw. I just hadn't built up the confidence to talk while I was trying to figure out my own upbringing. All it left me with was a hollow feeling, and it hurt like an empty stomach. Still, he nudged me towards Patches' direction, and even though that Pachirisu was just as young as me, he seemed more bold and willing to speak with others.

So, I reluctantly approached him, and when he asked how I was doing, I just shrugged the best way a Shinx could. But he understood me. We were both kind of displaced as electric Pokemon, and even with our tutor or surrogate there, we knew we had to grow up in an unfamiliar environment. And even then, after I settled, Bolt would rarely appear, basically leaving me without a parent. But I developed all the same, just in a different way.

Patches observed the clothes of all the humans that tended to him, while I was fascinated with the written word, especially the books. Just the way the words flowed on the page, and the way each sentenced had to be carefully constructed to make something unreal feel true resonated with me. They offered me glimpses into the outside world, which I had little chance to see, so with the library at the tips of my paws, I took out whatever books interested me. Throughout the formative years before the proper lessons started, ideas kept spinning in my head, and the more I thought about it, the more I realised I wanted to map them down. I wanted to create my own worlds, ones where I didn't feel so empty and afraid, and ones where I could live out my fantasies like I saw in tales of the knightly Gallade or the seafaring Cranidos or the dragon-obsessed Eevee.

Yet, it seemed like the books were raising me more than Bolt did.

* * *

 **(Hmm, that makes sense. I know you take a lot of solace in that, which is fine, but hearing this makes me understand you a bit more. So, what did the first** **focus session** **entail?)**

Alright, so it happened at around the same time as Curio had hers. Naturally, I was kind of anxious, especially since most of the other Pokemon in our base seemed so sure of what they were doing. I tried reading The Writer's Pokedex, a guide to writing and outlining in fantasy and sci-fi worlds, to get my mind off things while I waited, but when that wasn't enough, I started pacing about the room. Patches must've noticed since he started pacing about with me too.

"Why are you doing that?" I said.

"I dunno," he said, sticking his tongue out. "Why are you walking around like that, sourpuss?"

I grunted. "Oh, it's that noticeable, is it? Sorry. My mind keeps racing whenever I'm waiting around like this. I can't snap out of it."

For that, he gave me a playful zap on the forehead, and even if I was resistant to electricity, of course, my head tingled a little bit. "Does that work?"

I was about to call him out on it, but decided against it. Weirdly enough, that gut feeling of dread faded, and true to his word, that took my mind off things. "Yeah, thanks."

 **(So… he gave you electro-shock therapy like a mental patient, huh?)**

I'd rather you didn't use that phrase, Curio, but yes, it usually did the trick on me. So, I sat with Patches, discussing what we'd get up to, and listening to him talk about the differences between single and cross-stitches, which mostly went over my head. Still, I enjoyed the company. Eventually, all the tutors took everyone out of the room, including my own tutor, Bolt, who wordlessly led me down the painted hallways. He didn't ask me how I was getting on, and he rarely did in general, even during the first year. I had gotten used to it, but it was still disappointing.

Eventually, he dropped me off to a familiar classroom where Azzy usually was, except in place of him was a human. In particular, he was a rather scruffy person who appeared as if he only got out of bed, from the way his hair jolted up like he'd been shocked. He sat, slumped over on one of the beanbags, rubbing his head. Before I could ask if I had the right place, Bolt shut the door behind me. I looked back to the human, who grumbled as he straightened his back.

"You're Shine, right? Sorry, I hit the sauce again last night," he said.

 **(Nice, you ended up with a drunk.)**

Let me finish. I didn't know what that meant at the time, but now I do, I wonder how I even ended up with him as a teacher. In any case, he didn't even bother going up to the whiteboard and started bouncing on the beanbags.

"Ah, this is so nice. Come, join me."

He slumped down on the makeshift bed and gestured for me to come close. I wasn't sure if I was comfortable with this, to be honest. I had gotten on well with the humans before, as they treated me with care and was there for me sometimes when Bolt wasn't, but this was supposed to be my teacher, someone I had to answer to and obey. I thought I was going to learn the tools of the trade, not laze around with some random layabout. After a moment, he sat back up and cocked his head.

"Do you even understand me?"

" _O-of c-c-course I do,"_ I said. Even in the human tongue, I still couldn't get over my speech impediment.

"Okay, got you." He groaned and rubbed his head. "Well, geez, I gotta get through a full day of this…"

I assumed it was my fault and shrivelled up in a ball, unsure of what to do from there. It seemed like my fears for the first day started collapsing in on me. _"S-s-sorry. I'm s-sorry. I-I-I know I'm a-a disappointment."_

"What're you apologising for?" Footsteps echoed towards me. "I'm the one with a hangover, so it's my problem, not yours."

Another pause. I was still trying to shut myself in my world, and the rest of my body reflected that, as static bristled through my fur.

"Hey, there." His hand gently brushed against my coat, then he yelped, pulling it away. "Oh, right, you're an electric type."

" _Y-yes. Sorry."_

"Like I said, no need to apologise." Another pause, and then, a sigh. "I'll be honest, I'm not used to this. I usually teach kids about the written word, but I don't think I've ever taught a Pokemon before. When those guys asked me to come on board, the pay seemed worth it, but coming here, I'm still figuring out how to schedule something for someone of your kind."

That jolted me out of my sulking session. I finally looked at him, and his gaze was soft and friendly. "So, why don't we talk, so I can figure out what you're like, huh? Then, we can work out what to do from there. If I need to puke, I'll let you know beforehand."

 **(Wow, T-M-I)**

Yes, I agree. Aside from that one blip, my heart felt more at ease, and the static on my coat subsided a bit. Reluctantly, the teacher brought his hand to my back and stroked again, this time, avoiding the shock. That felt comforting, especially from a human touch. Paws were usually nice, but there was something about human skin that felt so soft and soothing. Against all odds, he managed to calm me down and he brought me over to the beanbags to talk in peace.

To be honest, calling it a lesson was a bit of a stretch, at least for the first half. He told me his name, which was Allister, and what he did. He was a language professor as well as an author on the side, but had to use teaching in order to supplement his dreams. In turn, I told him about what I had done there so far, as best as I could through my stuttering and imperfect human tongue, as well as my growing passion for writing. We exchanged info about the books we were reading at the moment, and he even gave me a few recommendations for me to check out in the library later, so we hit our stride. Even after the lunch break intermission, our conversations continued as he started asking what I'd like to see in my own book. I think I remember some of those elements, but don't really think it would be that interesting now.

 **(No, go on. It's the first time I've heard about your interest in writing, so it would be nice to** **hear about it** **.)**

Alright. There were a few books I was inspired by, like the Gallade one, and how a story of an underdog Pokemon overthrowing a tyrannical empire of corrupt Pokemon conjured up hope in my situation. He was strong, but he was also vulnerable. He was facing off a world that had already been overtaken by malevolent forces, and he grappled with his own doubts and fears from time to time. But he also had lots of people to help him on his mission, so he wasn't alone, and when things got dark, I often escaped into that book to remind myself that I wasn't alone either.

It wasn't just one book, but a series of books, all giving unique takes on the protagonist's journey. The Gallade grew as I grew, seeing parts of the world I didn't, and learning with each battle he survived and each friend that joined him in his quest. It was interesting to see how all the Pokemon used their powers, like how the Gallade would use his prediction powers to tell what one of the fat cats were going to plot next. Even the little things, like using his arm blades to cut up vegetables, sparked joy in me. The world just felt so rich. And not only that, the villains seemed very rich as well, as they all had their own reasons for ruling and had lives of their own, which made them feel real, even if it was for the wrong reasons.

Allister took this all in and encouraged lots of other little ideas from there. But before I knew it, the dinner bell struck, and class was over. Before he left, he wrote something down on a piece of paper and handed it over to me. It read: 'HOMEWORK: Make an outline for a short story and present that to me next week.'

My mind hit a blank there. I was used to my teachers and everyone else giving me work to follow, not coming up with work on my own. When he asked that from me, I raised my paw.

"Yeah?" he said.

" _U-um, don't know how to. W-what if it isn't good?"_

"Shine, I wouldn't worry too much at this stage. You're just starting out. And besides, I say no idea isn't worth pursuing, and every story seed has some value to it."

" _But, but, I've never done that before! It has to be good, like those book stories!"_

"Look, nobody writes a good story out of the womb, or out of the egg, whatever it is for your kind. But we've all got to start somewhere. Just take whatever you like the best from your favourite books and you'll naturally come up with something." He smiled. "I'm sure you'll do just fine; you seem like a very smart Pokemon already."

He left, groaning as he was glad to get home from his hangover, and I returned to have dinner. Even though I ate with my table, who all noisily talked, I still focused on my own thoughts and started daydreaming about what I'd do if I ever pursued this writing focus to the fullest extent. Maybe I'd publish a book and be a bestseller. Maybe I'd sign other people's books with inked pawprints. Maybe I'd meet up with a lot of other human authors and start being recognised not just as a Pokemon, but as an equal as well.

* * *

 **(So, after he gave you the assignment, how did your writing escapades fare?)**

Well, I still struggled to come up with concrete ideas. I would usually pace about my own base, trying to form them by brute force, but nothing came up. At that time, Patches seemed to be busy with Lucy, since she invited him into her own room, so I was left with no one to talk to. Tom was asleep, having gorged himself on Basil's cooking. Milly was still in her own little world. That Staraptor liked the other base more because she got to see the fake stars at night. That Bibarel was out too. Then, I remembered Fernes' talk about the Razzberry War at lunchtime. I didn't think to follow her up on it, but when I realised she was what I needed to get the creative juices flowing, I shook myself out of my self-pity and went to the wild base.

It was still packed with Pokemon since the Abraxas fiasco, so it bustled with activity. There were playfights going on. There were all sorts of subjects doing different things, like mixing chemicals and plants in flasks in the case of the Roselia, and more I don't recall at the top of my head, and yet, the Rapidash wasn't there. After asking around, that led me to the gym, where Fernes raced on a treadmill as her flames proudly lit around her. Her hooves pounded on there, echoing on the spacious walls. She seemed completely in her element. But when I went up to her to try and get her attention, I must've surprised her, so she tripped and ended up falling off the conveyor. I went up to her immediately.

"Oh god, I-I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

"It's fine," she said, shaking her head. Fernes seemed quite strong though, so she got up immediately and turned off the whirring equipment with her nose. "Did you want something?"

"Um, y-yeah, I would like to know more about that war you talked about."

"Oh, yes, right." She smiled. "I'd be happy to tell you about it. The books are in the library though, so you'll have to follow me."

I nodded and trailed behind her, trying to keep my distance. The more I looked at those flames, the more I wondered how she was able to go through the facility without being a walking fire hazard. We did have safety drills in case that happened though. I was about to ask her myself, but when she reached the library's doors, her flames subsided, and so, my questions were answered as she entered.

I might as well go into a little more detail about it. We were greeted with the sight of both humans and Pokemon alike, reading in a variety of different spaces. It was only one floor, so it wasn't very tall, but it was wide, meaning that most of the room consisted of spaces to sit. The insides, like the hallways, were very colourful though with lots of painted designs, so that always made me feel welcome. There weren't any bookshelves, but instead, there was a screen with a slot at the bottom, which looked somewhat like a fireplace, except you had to touch and speak into it, and it would give you a virtual catalogue of stuff to go through. Once you knew what you wanted, like a book on molding with plasteicine, then there it was. The book would materialise from the compartment, as if from thin air, and there it was for you to sift through. Apparently, it has the same technology as the bag Curio uses, but please don't take that as gospel.

Admittedly, a Rapidash looked out of place amongst the humans in the library, but then again, a Shinx did too, so I didn't dwell on it. She spoke into the screen and from there, a few books materialised on the matter, which she took with her maw and laid them in a corner for me to join her.

"You were saying you wanted to write a story about it?"

"U-um, yes." I was still a little unsure if a Pokemon writing a book was heard of before. "D-do you know if Pokemon can write?"

"Yes, of course. I don't doubt it at all, although there apparently aren't any books published by them, at least from what my tutor says."

I groaned, feeling some of my hopes dash. Still, I was optimistic, and wanted to hear about this war.

"So, what were the Razzberry Wars?"

"Well, I'm still finding out what it's about, but from what I've read so far, it was supposed to be a war between Kalos and Sinnoh. It's hard to wrap my head around, but it sounded like a war on language."

"L-language?" I cocked my head. "I-isn't there only one?"

"I don't think so." She rubbed at her head with a hoof. "From what Azzy told me, there were also languages that existed long ago that aren't used now. And this Razzberry War was what killed a lot of those languages off."

"I don't follow. How can language die out?"

"Think about it. Some of the words we use, and a lot of the namesakes in Kalos, were passed down from older languages. The ones human speak now is just called a universal language, but before then, it was Honnohan, a combination of the languages from Kanto, Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh. They all communicated equally across the different regions. At least, until four hundred years ago."

"A-and then what?"

"There was unrest in Sinnoh. A territorial dispute between the Elite, who had formed for 50 years before then, and the previously ruling kingdom, who were trying to maintain their power when the League was first established. This was before parliament was introduced and made the League redundant anyway, but I digress.

"In particular, it was a dispute between the royal family, who were happy to sicc their Pokemon on anything they didn't like, and the Brooks lineage: a family of Pokemon masters who gained influence for their abilities to tame Pokemon as well as their battle prowess. They were responsible for the foundations of the trainer system to begin with. You had two parties with different kinds of power clashing against each other. Recipe for disaster.

"Then, those from Kalos heard what was happening and tried to move there to protest against it. Because of the language barrier, as the protestors spoke, well, Kalosan, the Sinnohans thought they were trying to invade. Well, it's most complicated than that, but those are the basics, long story short."

Fernes frowned, blowing steam out of her nostrils.

"Some of what I read was horrible. I don't want to get too much into it, and there's still so much I have to learn, but at least I know what war is like in general now."

"Like?" I asked. I knew about war from the books I read, but again, they were mostly about fantasy and usually didn't go into the real horrors of fighting in that sort of conflict. Then, what about the Pokemon involved? I knew some of us were used along police forces, but…

"Well, war is war. It's a cycle of death until one party gets what they want. In this case, the Sinnohans won after hundreds and thousands of deaths, all because of some silly miscommunication. Now, they agreed for everyone to speak a common language to avoid this, even though it isn't really needed now. We still have our own language, but that's more down to feral communication. You'd think they'd make us learn it if it was so important to the humans, but we didn't start becoming more intelligent til' later down the line."

"But, what were we treated like?"

"Well, just like we seem to be tools for trainers, we were soldiers for the armies as well. Once they found a Pokemon suited for their needs, they captured them, trained them and drafted them into the army, choice or not. Despite that, from all these journals I read, they valued these Pokemon very highly. Like your kind."

"Really?"

"Yes! Luxray were used as scouting Pokemon, able to defend themselves with their electric powers, while alerting their teammates where the next base was with their x-ray vision. They were trained to give signals to humans as well. These were often shared by Lucario as well, as you and them were sort of close friends in a way."

"Just like... oh, nothing."

"Well, you were Pokemon of honour, alongside lots of other species like Pawniard, or even, dare I say it Rapidash." Her face burned a hot red. "A-anyway. You would even be given medals based on your service, and have a place in the annals of history. Nowadays, from what I've seen, it's rare to make your mark on anything. But you get the idea."

She paused, allowing me to soak up all the information. There was something in me that sparked, since it felt strangely gratifying to hear we were treated as important members of society at one point. But I was so little, and still so very weak. It was too much to become a Luxray in shining armour, but at least, I could imagine myself as that.

"So, what would you like to do? I-I know it's a little early, but…"

"Oh, I know." She closed the book and stood, looking confident. "I'd like to have children of my own someday and tell them all about what happened. I would talk with the humans as well and research all about the history of this world, and help them with expeditions. I know it's a long way away, but I want to use my time wisely. Us Rapidash do not have as long a lifespan as humans, so that means I should live it to the fullest."

I felt some of her enthusiasm then and there. We hadn't talked much, but from what I could tell, her decision to come to GeL was probably the best for her.

So that was that. I stayed in the library for a bit, thinking about that knightly Luxray, and then, I thought about what it'd be like if I was that same Luxray, fighting for the region. If any water types came my way, I would've zapped them. If any Scyther threatened to chop my leader's heads off, I would've bitten their necks first. Well, perhaps not as graphic as that, but you can imagine the types of situations they could get into. That one idea turned into many. And from there, it grew into many other different scenes, so much so, I made up characters in my head as well as started developing a better version of myself: Sir Luxius the Third.

His fur shone proudly, as his masters groomed him well. His metal plating around his body protected him from anything, even if such a thing wasn't usual for someone of his kind. His name was echoed throughout the barracks and the battlements, as the proud and fierce Luxray of one of the generals in the Sinnoh Arms. If anything were to get in the way of him and his master, or his home region, he would've proudly charged into no man's land to defend what he believed in.

 **(Eh, seems a bit self-serving, doesn't it? Isn't that what they call a self-insert?)**

Well, yes, but you can't expect much from me, Curio, I was still a Shinx. Anyway, I'm getting a bit ahead of myself. I don't want to spend all day talking about this, so perhaps, I should move onto more pressing matters.

 **(You sound as if you're not proud of what you did.)**

It's hard to be when it was that long ago, Tony.

 **(But it also sounds like you love talking about it. I can hear the passion in your voice when you describe the books you read and the characters you made.)**

Perhaps I did. I will say, once I solidified my idea in my head and presented it to Allister, that gave me the courage to actually start writing it for the following month's assignment. I already had read enough from the Writer's Pokedex, as well as the vast library of books available at GeL, to get an idea of how to structure and write a story in my head, where Luxius would try to defend his land from an invading army of water-types.

I can't say for certain what I wrote was good or not, and it probably wasn't, especially not for the first time. Even as I wrote with my mouth, which took me ages, it was exhilarating to get my thoughts onto paper and create worlds with my pen. The hours flew by once I got into the flow of it, and when it did, I forgot about all my present worries as well as my future concerns. That was what gave me solace during the first part of the second year.

Then the fight tests took over.


	31. And The Starlights Begin

**(Oh yes, the fight tests. Refresh my memory please, Shine.)**

Alright. I think at this point, people would be asking why GeL would make us learn how to fight if we weren't in the field. Of course, it's because we needed to be strong in order to protect ourselves. Even if we managed to land a human's job out there, we still needed to be on par with the average battling Pokemon. Either to stop us from being taken advantage of by humans or ambushed by a powerful feral type out of nowhere. In that sense, the fights were structured more like exams than trainer battles. Some picked up on it naturally. Others, like me, weren't so well off. Case in point, my first fight with Floatsam.

Curio and Bran, me and Floatsam were paired into two groups with Azzy. As the language specialist, it was odd to think of him training us in a real battle situation, but that changed once we got stuck into the lesson.

He started with the other two and their session went quite smoothly. They traded teasing remarks with one another, then began the battle, throwing Focus Punches here and Aura Spheres there. Bran tried to close in on her, but she kept him on his toes with her projectiles. That didn't last long as Bran boosted his defences by bulking up, deflecting her attacks, and put her in a choke hold. I watched with bated breath, hoping she would find a way out of this situation, and then, blue energy pulsed around her head. She faced forward, then with a crunch, headbutted Bran square on the nose with an aura-boosted strike. He toppled to the ground, nursing his crooked snout, when Azzy stepped in with two potions.

"Alright, stop, stop," he said. "I would say that's a draw, but …" He trailed off, only continuing once he handed Curio her healing drink. "Curio, what you used there is an illegal move."

"Oh, c'mon." She groaned. "Really?"

"Yes, that's not officially recognised in the move table. That's an example of a hybrid move, something any Pokemon can use within their skillset, but gives Pokemon an unfair advantage in league situations."

Curio sipped on her energy carton and sat up. "Look, if I used a regular headbutt, he wouldn't have even flinched. He bulked up, didn't he? Plus, you wanted us to think on our feet, so what gives?"

"Ah, well, this won't really be going anywhere. As an extra bit of constructive criticism, you could've used Quick Guard with Bran's first headbutt." Azzy gave Bran his own potion, letting him recover on his own as he joined the rest of our group. "In any case, both of you did good. You were able to improvise and you exploited both your opponent's weaknesses. Both of you passed."

They both sighed in relief and Curio regrouped with Bran. Despite the injuries during the fight, they took it in good jest and chatted with one another as if nothing happened. Her energy would've bounced over to me if it wasn't for the fact my turn was next. I wished it was Curio I faced off against, someone I trusted and knew would be there to support me throughout. Floatsam was similarly cheerful but he didn't understand me on the same wavelength as his other wild companions. I told myself I'd be facing off against a water type however, which I had the advantage over, so that boosted my morale, if only by a little bit.

"Alright, Shine and Floatsam," Azzy said, "I want you to fight each other next. Remember your move set, try to act on your own, but if you get stuck, I'll be there to command you. Got that?"

We faced each other on opposite ends of the arena.

"U-um," I called to the Buizel, "l-let's do our best!"

"Yeah, let's!" he shouted back, happily bouncing on his paws.

"Alright, you two, ready!" Azzy said. I stood stock still, awaiting the final call with dread. "First move goes to you, Floatsam. Go!"

Floatsam dashed forward while I swayed to and fro, not knowing which direction he would've struck first. Then, he stopped, puffed up his cheeks and spat a torrent of water towards me. Thankfully, I saw that one coming and dodged to the right. In response to that, I charged up my electric field and shot a spark, but Floatsam darted forward with a water jet and slammed into me, throwing my tiny body across the arena.

My sides ached. I tried to get up to make the next move, but my legs kept wobbling. I was terrified, to be honest. It suddenly hit me that this was a real battle, where we'd be tested based on our fighting prowess and evaluated. I couldn't have messed up, but at the same time, everything was going too fast. What if I made the wrong move? What if I suddenly tripped over my own feet? It wasn't quite rational, but to my young Shinx mind, who had never set foot out of the facility before on their own, it was too much for me. You could've said it was a case of analysis paralysis.

 **(Hehe, paralysis.)**

Yes, Curio, paralysis, elemental pun not intended.

"Hey!" Azzy shouted, dragging me back into reality. "Close in on him with Thunder Fang! That will do it!"

For the moment, that snapped me out of it, pushing my nerves to the back of my mind, ready to strike. At least, that's what I thought. When I dashed towards Floatsam, he flashed from side to side, becoming an orange blur with his Agility skill. That threw me completely off balance. I looked to Azzy, wondering what to do next.

"Come on!" he yelled. "Charge into there with your static field and slam into him first!"

"B-but, what if I miss? W-why can't he slow—"

Floatsam struck my head with a decisive tail swipe, crashing me through the arena. It took a while for me to get my bearings again, but when I did, my whole body was shaking. I was para- no, frozen with shock.

"Shine," he said, "remember your charge and spark. Quickly, he's coming again!"

I shrieked as Floatsam charged forward, water guns blazing. Each moment spent looking for an opening was a moment lost. I was just a scared little cub again like I was in the first year and I couldn't have done anything about it. Surrendering, I curled up into a ball.

"P-please," I whimpered, "d-don't hurt me. D-dont…"

"U-um," Floatsam said, "this isn't fun any more, teach."

"Alright, stop it right there," Azzy called. "Floatsam, you did well, so you passed." I expected to get told off by Azzy for what happened, but he stroked my head, which reassured me a little. "Come on out, I'm not going to yell at you. I know Bolt isn't exactly kind to you in that regard."

The mention of Bolt dredged up something inside of me. That was enough for me to stand up and look at my teacher directly, even if my body trembled from the fight. "A-aren't you? I failed."

"Well, yes, you haven't passed this test. But it would be unrealistic to expect everyone to perform at the same level."

"H-he's a water type though. I'm electric. I-I should've—"

"Shine, that mindset will get you nowhere in and out of battle." He leaned in to hug me. Despite the shocks I emitted, he took it in his stride. "You must learn to have faith in yourself if you want to succeed in life. Now, brace yourself." I winced as he applied the potion over my wounds, but as the healing properties worked its magic, my strength returned bit by bit. Eventually I could walk on my own and he patted my back, letting me know it was okay to regroup.

"Oh, but Shine," Azzy said, getting my attention again. "You will be expected to pass one of the fight tests eventually. If you don't learn to hold your own in a battle, you'll be put in fast track until you prove yourself again."

I gulped when I heard that.

 **(Fast track?)**

His polite way of saying detention. Mind you, it was nothing sinister on paper, as that only meant I would be under extra supervision in an intensive environment. Nothing that warranted too much of a scare. Still, it was embarrassing to think I was in danger of falling behind.

"So until then," he continued, "take note of what your mistakes were in this battle and learn from them later on. We'll give you some papers to help you understand. Is that clear?"

Wearily, I nodded and returned to my group on the sidelines. Floatsam looked away from me with annoyance. So even he considered me a let down. Curio must've seen the shame on my face since she knelt down to stroke my ears.

"Don't worry, Shine. Your time will come soon."

"I-I hope so," I said. "O-oh god, how humiliating. Everyone p-probably hates me now."

"Pfft," she said, "they don't care, and who gives a Rattata's _ass_ what they think?"

"I agree," Bran said with a slight smile. "You should fight for yourself and not for others."

"A-aren't you a fighting type, though?"

"Well, yes. But I would not fight needlessly or for pride."

"Ain't that engrained in your kind, though?" Curio said.

"Hmm." Bran crossed his arms. "I would not book a judge by his covers. Personally, I like fighting, but with these hands"-he held out his palm-"I could do anything a human do. I could build boats. I could play the guitar. I could ride motorbikes. I see humans do all sorts of interesting things. Yet, I do not see ours doing much. Maybe somewhere out there. Not with my own experience."

"Um, cool story bro," Curio said, playfully tapping him on the shoulder, "but where are you going with this?"

"Well, I think of it like a fight is a performance, and I am putting on a mask, like the Hawluchador wrestlers Henry tells me about." He traced his hand over his face. "With this, I can be anything I want in the arena. It would be like my own performance." He pointed to me. "Think of it like that. You can be confident in yourself when you put on a mask for others."

I got the gist of what he meant, like projecting a fake version of yourself to those around you, but at the time, I didn't know how that helped in a battle situation. His talk did make me feel a little better inside though. From there, I was able to eat peacefully with my friends, and looking forward to completing my writing assignment without any interruptions. Or so I thought.

* * *

The following fight tests in the next few weeks weren't so kind on me. No matter what I tried to take away from the last one, each opponent I faced on my level would still beat me. Each failed test stripped away what little pride I had left. After one more disastrous fight test, I was dismissed and sent back to my base. For that moment, I just wanted to escape into the story I started to write. But as I was about to grab a pen and pad, Bolt entered the base.

"Shine," he said in a hollow tone, "I need to speak with you."

I gulped as he approached, leering at me.

"Hmph." He flared his nostrils, "Shine, this is your last warning. You have disappointed me again and again in these fight tests. If you fail the next one, you'll be put into detention."

I was speechless. I didn't know how to react, but I quivered in fear as my tutor kept staring through me.

"I should expect you to train harder for the next match. But in all seriousness, considering your track record, I don't have high hopes for you."

Now that, I couldn't take in silence. I stood upright, staring back at him defiantly. "N-no. I'll, um, I'll prove you wrong!"

"Hmph, that isn't very likely. You've outworn your chances for now."

"B-but wait!" I scratched at the smooth flaw underneath my feet. "You've never even given me a chance! From the first day, you've never had any respect for me! Why? Why would you—"

"Do not talk to me like that, you pampered little cub." Bolt turned back, whipping me with his tail, and padded towards the door. My anger curdled into fear. "If you want respect, then you'll have to earn it in battle tomorrow. If not, then you will have to make up for that in your own time, and there will be no more writing until you've proven yourself. Bye."

And with that, he left the base. I spent the night, curled up in bed, not knowing what to do. I wanted to train, but I couldn't bring my body to do it; I was that paralysed with dread. And if I tried, I thought I'd end up disappointing everyone anyway, even when I remembered my training. I'm not proud to admit that now, but that was my frame of mind back then.

 **(I understand. I guess if I were in your shoes, I would be a little frightened as well. It isn** **'t exactly the same as trainer school, though I've never been, unless you count the exam to get the license, so I can't say for certain. But fighting anyone to pass your lessons would be a bit intimidating.)**

Indeed. I procrastinated until the next day where it finally sunk in that I needed to practise. So, I tried to train myself in the gym before the test started. There were treadmills as well as climbing posts, dummies, boards to zap our elemental powers at, and anything else a Pokemon might need to boost their fighting skills. Naturally, I failed to use all of them properly. The treadmill ended up being too fast for my little Shinx legs, so I faceplanted as soon as I stepped onto the conveyor. Despite my kind having feline reflexes, I was clumsy at best, so I ended up falling a lot. Any attempt to slam into a dummy got redirected at me, knocking me back with a blow to the face.

I felt like crying again, but I suppressed that urge and focused my electric energy on the padded wall. That was one thing I was somewhat good at. Every time I charged up some static, my coat felt strange, but once I knew what I was aiming for and discharged, it felt normal again. That being said, I was way off the mark from the pad's target. Maybe I had gotten rusty. If I was going to strike effectively in battle, I knew I had to train my sight. So I kept shooting until the bell rang. To borrow from Curio's expression, oh crap.

 **(Language, Shine.)**

Like you're one to talk. But no, I didn't feel prepared for anything at all. The world was crashing down around me and everything felt terrible. Yet, slowly but surely, I made my way to the battle arena. Of course, Bolt was there. With dread nestled in my gut, I joined the team.

"Well," Bolt said, "you decided to join us. Alright then, you four." He looked to me, PZ, Patches and Tom. "You'll be pitted in teams of two to do a Double Battle. Since you lot haven't evolved yet, consider this a good exercise to train your way into the next stage, as well as build your ability to work in a group, should it ever come to that."

He paced back and forth, eyeing us with an omniscient gaze. "Some of you have already proven yourselves and will be leading the charge. Others, though…" He trailed off and made a point of glaring down at my tiny Shinx form. "You'll most likely be carried by your betters."

I looked away, trying to ignore his indirect stab at me.

"But no matter." He stood back, eyeing us all. "Whether you win or lose is trivial, although the former is preferable. But you shall be graded on your efforts and not your results, so you must try, no, do your best."

I tuned out as he went on to group Tom and Patches together. I breathed in and out, trying to suppress my anger. I never felt anything like it towards anyone else, but Bolt was... Ugh. Putting up a front about winning or losing being trivial, while I was being threatened into detention. I wanted to sew his lips shut, to be honest.

I would've just been stewing in my rage until PZ leaned into whisper in my ear. "Wow, is he this much of a _hardass_ as your Dad like he is here?"

It was weird to think of him as my father since we weren't tied by blood, but I guess he was in type and spirit. "Yes."

"That sucks. But hey"-he patted me on the back-"you gotta try here too. Stick it to your old Mon."

Even if it didn't resolve my trepidation, I stood up at last, motivated to win this battle. It wasn't long before me and PZ were paired up and briefed on the rules, which was standard for the league, except with more freedom to plan before the match since team communication was important. So while the other duo hatched plans of their own, PZ drew me in again.

"So, yer pretty close with that sewing guy, right?" he whispered, which I hummed a reply to. "Okay, so, I figure he'd go a bit easier on ya since you're his bud. If ya use those Baby Doll Eyes of yours, you can distract him, and I can use these ice powers of mine to dampen his electric stuff. After that, just wail on that Munchlax and I'll take care of Patches. Sound good?"

Though I didn't exactly like battling my friends, I gave another approving hum, letting him know we were good to go. Once the opposing team was done, they faced us, and Patches winked at me.

"Best of luck, Shine," he said.

"And you," I replied.

"Just you wait," PZ said, pointing at the two, "I'll open up a can of _whoopass_ on you!"

Everyone stood in stunned silence, including me. PZ nervously tittered, getting back into position. "Ya know, that sounded cooler in my head than it does when I say it for real."

"Enough of this," Bolt said, planting his paw into the turf. "You four, starting with Shine and PZ, begin."

We set our plan into motion. I went up to Patches and tried my best to channel my inner hatchling and put on the cutest face I could muster. I widened my eyes and pouted, like that of a kicked kitten, and hoped it looked convincing enough to get through to him.

"Dammit," Patches said, unimpressed, "I know what you're tryin' to do, Shine, but…" He trailed off, looking to the Manectric. "Do I hafta beat up my friend?"

Bolt huffed and scratched the turf with his paw, signalling Patches to follow suit. Before he could, however—

"Now!"

I stepped back as PZ threw a paw full of icy dust at Patches, coating him in a frosty sheen. That took him aback, though in retaliation, Tom sprang forward, launching his whole body towards my teammate. It was enough to throw him off balance, but PZ swiped at the same time, cancelling the impact. So the two stood point blank, grappling each other, waiting to find a weak spot to take advantage of. So it was my turn to strike while I could still move, and so, charging up all the static in my body, I shot a spark of electricity at Tom, hoping I'd hit my mark. It struck his plump side perfectly, knocking him to the floor as his whole body shook.

I had to admit, I felt a little spark inside myself. I couldn't believe I'd finally gotten the edge over my opponent, and it was exciting. That didn't last long, however, as PZ charged through the field, bumping into my shoulder.

"Finish him already! Thunder Fang!"

He charged for Patches next, wailing on him with a set of Fury Swipes as he curled up in a ball. It wasn't out of fear though, rather, he was taking it all on purpose. I didn't have long to react as that blue ball of fur was still shaking on the floor, trying to regain control of his body. There was a little tinge of guilt at that, but I knew I had to make the next move. So I sprinted, teeth bared, ready to strike, and pounced on him, pinning him under my sturdy paws. Try as he might've to shake himself away, I plunged into his belly with my fangs, discharging the energy stored up in there to shock him even more. I tasted iron, and that was the moment I felt the rush of battle the most in my Shinx form. Strange to think I had been afraid for so long, when I had the power within me to hold my own all along.

But that was short lived. An ear splitting screech rang through my head, bouncing in my skull and through the rest of my body. It came from Tom, who screamed in agony as he still reeled from the bite, where two sets of teeth marks had burrowed in his belly and left red marks. I drew blood. Only a little, but I did that to my friend, who fed me when I had no energy to eat and lifted me up when I felt down at times. Even in a mock battle, this didn't feel right. I backed away, shaking from head to toe, then stopped completely. I couldn't move. My body still told me to fight but my mind shut down, stuck in a feedback loop. I could do nothing but watch as the fight played itself out without me.

PZ swiped and clawed at my friend, drawing blood as well, but Patches wasn't bothered by this at all He was waiting for the right moment. And, just as my teammate glared at me, Patches flashed with a white energy and headbutted him in the stomach. That black blur whizzed from across the arena and landed close to me. PZ got up quickly, but held his own belly, as he reeled from the hit, and tried to get close to me.

"H-hey, whaddya think you're doin—"

Tom threw himself at my teammate again.

"No, you don't!"

PZ rolled to the side, avoiding Tom's Body Slam. In turn though, that Munchlax ended up crashing into me anyway, launching me to the edge of the arena borders. From there, I don't entirely know what happened next. My mind not only felt weak, my body felt weak as well, having the wind knocked out of me from Tom's attack. If I willed it, I probably could've gotten up, but I just didn't. Not couldn't. Didn't. I thought it would be better to not get involved anyway.

Blue, black and white blurs bounced off of each other, in harmony with one another, in the groove of the battle, which I was locked out of. A zap here. A body slam there. Then, the Pokemon I recognised as PZ fell, down for the count. Yet the battle was still going. Those two bodies approached me. I needed to get up, I needed to fight. My vision unblurred, and wearily, I got to my feet, but as soon as it hit me what they were about to do, I curled up into my usual defensive stance. So that was it.

"Finish the match," Bolt said. "He can still get up and fight."

"Hey, teach," Patches said, "this ain't right. You can see he doesn't wanna do it."

"Yeah," Tom said, "I don't wanna keep hurting my friend."

"You two will finish the match," Bolt snarled. "This cub needs to learn to react properly in battle. This can't go on."

"Look though!" Patches yelled. I peeked from one of my paws to see him pleading with our Manectric tutor. "You know Shine's always had trouble with fightin'! This is pointless! It ain't fun scaring him even more than this!"

"You're coddling him."

"At least I was tryin' to get through to him, and he came outta his shell in the end. You gave up on him just because you couldn't do the same! This ain't about the test, it's about you!"

"Enough of this." Bolt turned to his side, dismissing Patches' attempts to get through to him. "The match is over, so there will be no more fighting." He dug into a nearby bag with his teeth, drawing out potions for all of us to use on each other. One. Two. Three. Where was mine? "Heal yourselves up. You, Tom, and PZ have passed, although you might not've won the match. PZ in particular, you are ready to evolve. Collect your fang in the night at any time."

"Got it, teach," PZ groaned.

"What does that mean for Shine, then?" Patches asked.

"He'll be put into detention until he can learn to defend himself."

That was the moment it hit me. I had failed. Had I let everyone down. I sniffled, feeling the urge to cry deep in my gut.

"H-hey," he said, skittering towards me, "can I just talk to him—"

"No," Bolt said firmly. "You are dismissed. You'll see him briefly at the cafeteria, but you won't be seeing much of him after that for a little while."

Patches stared at me longingly. I knew he wanted to be by my side, but with Bolt's presence there, he couldn't. So in time, he exited the arena along with everyone else. It was just me and my tutor, alone in that spacious room. Bolt silently walked towards me. I shrivelled up in my ball again, not wanting to face him, but he leaned in to whisper in my ear anyway.

"You'll heal up over time. Those aren't serious wounds."

"I-I-I'm sorry," I stuttered, "I'm, I'm s-s-s-o weak, I'm s-s-s—"

"Enough whining. This is ridiculous. Now, come on. We'll go get your meal, and then, you'll be taken down to your new room for the duration of your detention."

I let out tiny sobs, about to burst.

"Stop crying like a hatchling and come with me, otherwise I'll drag you by your ears with my teeth."

That jolted me out of my episode. I unfurled from my defensive stance and dried my eyes, then, he led me to the feeding room. The walk was long and slow. It felt even longer with my wounds, as it ached to even walk. I knew people stared at us with concern as he walked me through the hallway, but I ignored it. I just wanted the day to end at that point, but my stomach roared, telling me I had to eat. So I reluctantly entered, and the first thing I saw was Curio, sitting next to Hans in shock at my appearance. Bolt nudged me, gesturing to go talk to them while he fetched my food for me. Perhaps that was one small mercy he allowed me.

 **(Not really, I** **'m kind of getting sick of hearing about him to be honest.)**

Yes. I don't really like recalling what happened, but if I don't talk about him properly, I never will. Curio put her cutlery down and rushed to my side.

"Jeez, Shine! What happened to you?"

I just hung my head in shame. The other students whispered to themselves, calling my name a few times along with some unpleasant nicknames being traded about like ' _Shit_ shine'. Patches eventually came forward and relayed the info to her, and she pulled me closer to her in an attempt to hug it out. It was of little comfort, and I didn't even feel like I deserved it. Thankfully, she let go, but she also eyed Bolt as he talked over the table to one of the lunch ladies. Her aura flared up, casting her paws aglow.

"That _bastard_ ," she muttered under her breath, "who does he think he is?"

"Hey," Patches said, "I just wanna know why GeL's letting him get away with it. I know fightin's important and all that, but—"

"Yeah, but, ugh!" She bashed her fist on the floor. "He can't do this! He's just gonna waste his time trying to get Shine to do anything anyway!"

Although this certainly wasn't my proudest moment, that struck a nerve with me. "What do you mean by that?"

"Oh, um—"

"Or do you mean I can't do anything, because I'm weak and sad and useless, is that it?"

"No, Shine, that's not what—"

"Go on, admit it, from day one, you just took pity on me. Why else would you hang out with a loser like me?"

"For god's sake." Curio rubbed her forehead. "If I thought you were a loser, I would've just told you."

"Yeah," Patches said, joining her side, "and I wouldn't have stuck with you all this time."

"I'm just sick of embarrassing myself in front of everyone all the time!" I leered up at Curio. "You just babied me all this time!"

I regretted it as soon as I said it. I knew that wasn't true, but at that stage, my temper had reached a boiling point.

"Okay." Curio's eyes narrowed. "And who tried to get you to fight in the first place, huh?"

"C'mon, Shine," Patches chimed in, "don't take this out on her."

"And I know you don't mean that. My aura says so."

I recoiled at the mention of the word aura. She read my thoughts without asking first. I knew she was just trying to help, but still, when I realised that, I backed away.

"Stop reading my mind, dammit!" I roared. "Just go away!"

I didn't wait for her to respond before I turned my back to leave, injuries be damned. I had nowhere to go except down, and the thought of that filled me with dread, but I just didn't want to be a burden to anyone else in that room anymore.

The hallway greeted me with those same floral patterns and colourful doodles, and that calmed me down somewhat as I huffed and puffed my frustrations out. In time, Bolt caught up with me and led me down the elevator path with my food bowl. The ride was spent in silence, and the same went for when we walked through the hissing insides of the lower floor. Maybe it was for the best, since talking would've only wound me up more, especially with Bolt. The bottom room was essentially a hub for the facility's behind the scenes functions, such as the janitor room, the laundry room for those permanently staffed there, and everything else. Compared to the layout of the rest of the facility though, this was very linear, with only one long hallway that had doors on the right and left hand sides. The one on the end at the centre, however, was where I stayed for the duration of my detention.

With a weary sigh, Bolt opened the detention door before me. Originally, it functioned as a spare room, so it didn't serve much of a purpose on its own. Yet, it was inhabited, with temporary bedding, waste deposits and toys scattered haphazardly on the floor. It looked and smelled like a tip.

Sitting in the middle of it all was M, the maskless Marowak, whose dull eyes stared into space a thousand yards away. Everything about him was still, except for his paws, which stroked the ears of a small Teddiursa plush. The stuffing at the side of its neck was ripped open.


	32. (M)eeting

Tony stopped recording again and ran his hands over his face. Shine in turn rose up, staring attentively at his trainer.

"Oh, dear, Shine. I'm sorry to hear about this."

Shine cocked his head. _"Whatever do you mean?"_

"I mean, Bolt, of course."

 _"Well, this isn't your first time hearing about this. You knew how he treated me before then."_

"Yes, I know, at least in general terms. Here, though, it's… never mind." He sighed. "No wonder you feel the way you do."

Shine took a moment to consider this. How did he feel? A part of his heart ached at the very thought of Bolt, sure. But that was his own doing entirely. For being so difficult to his tutor. For being weak when everyone else was strong. He rather he didn't draw attention to it.

 _"That was in the past."_ He stared at the floor. _"Besides, there were much worse things that happened to the both of us. This is nothing."_

"That doesn't make your feelings any less valid."

Shine said nothing. His feelings were true, but what would the world see of him? Of this Pokemon that should not have been?

"Okay, look." Tony got out of his chair and hugged Shine, holding him tight. He didn't even seem to notice his own hair spiking up. "It's not healthy to bottle up your emotions like that. Bolt wasn't there for you, and he didn't understand the sort of Pokemon you were. I know he wasn't your real father, but he should've acted like one while you still needed it. That would have an effect on anyone."

 _"Preach,"_ Curio said, standing on the sidelines. _"Seriously, screw Bolt. He really didn't do you any favours."_

 _"I know. B-but..."_ Shine trailed off, trying to process this moment. It was hard to deny the impact Bolt had on him, but at the same time, he felt very little in retrospect. Or at least, he told himself that he felt very little, even though his heart was still in his throat. Finally, he shook his head and sat up, trying to budge away form his trainer's grasp. _"Let's get a move on."_

"Are you sure?"

 _"Positive."_

Tony held him for one last moment before patting his back. From there, it was back to work.

* * *

 **(What happened on the first night in?)**

Well, nothing. Bolt told us to eat, then turn in for the night for an early start the next day. That meant being alone in the room with M, the Marowak that always set me on edge. There was something about the way he sat and stared at others as if he was about to descend on his prey. That much was true when Bolt chucked him a glob of raw meat, which he immediately tore into with his sharp teeth. Bolt laid down my bowl in front of me, which was filled with kibble, prepackaged meat and other morsels fit for my kind. That would've been it, and we would've been expected to settle down not long after, but before Bolt let us be, he licked the blood off of M's face. M closed his eyes, gently grunting as if he was being pet. It was surreal to see M look so pacified for the first time, but eventually, our tutor left for real, leaving me to eat my dinner in silence. Awkward silence.

The sounds around me were as clear as day. Water faintly rushed through the pipes, and footsteps, both soft and hard, pitter pattered through the floors outside. At that point, you could've cut the atmosphere in the room with a claw. Even more so as M stared at me the whole time I ate. That way, I got a good look at his maskless face. He had a bit of a stubby snout and broken horns at the top of his head, not to mention the splotches he bore as a Cubone. From what I saw in the Pokedex, if he was a usual Marowak, it would've looked like the skull and his face had merged into one. That was certainly an unpleasant image. But for M, even without it, he still got under my skin. Those orange eyes stared into mine with a great intensity, as if he was judging me, right then and there on the spot. If it wasn't for the fact he had just eaten, he probably would've confused me for fresh meat. That Teddiursa doll on the side offset things somewhat, but regardless, it's not something I like to remember that much.

Thankfully, he must've gotten bored and curled up in the corner of the room, falling asleep with his teddy bear in tow. So I finished my dinner in peace, a little grateful I didn't have to gaze at him any longer.

 **(I do have to wonder why the Pokedex commonly associates the Cubone line with the skull, if you don't mind me interrupting.)**

That's fine, Tony.

 **(Okay then. So, tangent time. The Pokedex entries in general are complete Taur. They don't have much of a basis in reality, and it's only used to boil down the proper encyclopedic entries to their barest essentials. So nobody in my field even takes them seriously. Even so, that entry's theory about the Cubone always wearing their mother's skull on their heads is complete bunk. My professors bitched about it enough in the biology classes we took, and it just doesn't make sense for every Cubone to wear their dead relative's bones from a logistical standpoint.**

 **Think about it. If every mother of a Cubone is supposed to be dead, then that means nothing else is replacing their species. They're gradually losing more numbers, and since that would mean the only one that can reproduce ends up commonly dying, their species would go extinct quickly. But what's a regular Cubone supposed to be without the skull, according to the Pokedex? How do they get the skull in the first place if the mother dies? Do they wait for it to decompose?**

 **None of this seems likely. Again, the Pokedex is meant to just be there as a basic guideline, but it kind of insults the intelligence of all the trainers involved. If they wanted to lie about it, then they should've at least come up with a convincing one and not have caused so many misconceptions about Pokemon everywhere.**

 **Okay, tangent over. Sorry about that, but that drives me insane. I guess we're too alike.)**

I don't mind your interruptions, so that's fine. Besides, I always found it a bit farfetched.

 **(Jeez, you guys are a bunch of dorks.)**

Look at the Sneasel calling the Scraggy a dark type. But in any case, the following morning, I woke up after M, so we had a bit of time alone together. Not that I exactly yearned for it, but still. He sat away from me, holding his bone club in his paws as he turned it around, running his claw over the marrow like he was studying it. Once he noticed I was awake, he approached me, getting so close that I could even smell his breath. The stench of the meat he ate last night lingered, so I recoiled, wanting to get away from it. Hopefully, the staff at GeL would come soon and brush his teeth, like they did with us every morning. Then M sniffed me down from head to paw. I thought he was doing it as a joke at first, so I chuckled, however half-heartedly, but he didn't find any of it amusing. He growled, making me flinch and curl up into a ball. Then he poked at me with his bone club, while I did nothing but wallowed in my own fear. Then he stopped after a while. When I came out of my personal bubble, he sat there, eyes wide, as he observed me. From there, I sat up straight, staring at him as well. There was a hint of loneliness in his eyes. Not only that, but curiosity as well, as if he didn't know what he was looking at. I think my behaviour threw him off a bit; if he was used to being in the wild and learning instinctual cues instead of language, then I must've been a bit of a freak.

After a while, his gaze softened, making him look sorrowful. Even though I was still scared of him, I couldn't help but feel for M, and my own curiosity got the better of me.

"Um, M?" I asked, ignoring the shaky feeling in my paws. "W-what was it like, in the wild?"

He grunted and took a deep breath. "Don't want to say."

At least I got something from him. Then, there was another question that danced on the tip of my tongue. "Um, d-different question. I-is it true? D-do most Cubone wear their mom's skull?"

His eyes widened and he raised his club. That wasn't the response I was hoping for. I thought he was going to take that start beating me up with it. Instead, he struck himself. I stood up, trying to get him to stop, but he pointed the club to me, stopping me in my tracks. He beat a second time, and then the third time. Even though it rang through the room with a resounding knock knock knock, he didn't flinch, or seem to feel pain. It wasn't the first time I saw him do that, but it unnerved me every time I caught him in the act.

Finally, after all that, his eyes dilated and he shook his head.

"Ah," I said. "S-so, the Pokedex lies, then?"

He didn't respond to that. I repeated the phrase, then when that didn't get a reaction, I said the word 'Pokedex' over and over again, trying to get him to remember. We went over that in our classes several times, so the thought of that going over his head just baffled me. Finally, I asked:

"Do you know what a Pokedex is?"

Another tap and a shake. "Confuses me."

I shrugged it off, not thinking much of it, and went back to the other question. "W-why don't they wear skulls?"

M snorted. "Some do. Take the skulls of our prey and wear them. Sign of power. Power is hurting. But not all. Have to wait for head to become bones."

My stomach lurched as the image of a decomposing Pokemon flashed in my head.

"I-I guess it wouldn't smell nice either."

M chuckled. I couldn't believe I actually got him to laugh at first, but he just kept chuckling until it became a hollow laugh. "Doesn't."

Before I could linger on that any longer, he stood up and pointed the club at me again. "Let's spar."

As he swung, I dodged just in time as it whooshed past my nose.

"H-h-hey!" I said, "t-training hasn't started yet!"

He lunged and swung again, this time, clocking me on the forehead. As you can imagine, I hit the floor, crying out in pain. My head felt like a slab of ice.

"Get up. Spar. Will heal after finish."

Tears started welling up, but I didn't cry that time. The whole thing was embarrassing, not only for myself, but for him as well, and everyone else. I hated that. Instead of crying as usual, I roared; the loudest I had heard myself roar up until that point. I stood up, charging my static field, until it surged through my whole body. It was a new move of mine: a Volt Tackle. Even though I knew my attacks would be weak against his, I didn't care, and just sprinted towards him, screaming through the pain. I managed to slam into him, tackling his belly with my head, but he didn't even flinch. As soon as he saw that opportunity, he took it, grabbing my ears and punching my face. That knocked me on my back that time. I tried to move, but then, he pinned me down to the ground, pummelling me, one fist after the other. His face looked the same when he punched that Munchlax's lights out ages ago. After taking so much punishment at once, my face just felt numb. I wondered if I was going to die there.

Then, it happened.

M shrieked in pain as my fangs dug into his flesh, not unlike how I did with Tom, but this time, I didn't stop. I clamped hard, pressing my maw down further. I would get him to stop hitting me that time. I had that power. I wasn't going to take it.

"You two, enough."

We both stopped. I opened my eyes soon after. Through the tears, I saw M walking towards Bolt, dragging the club across the floor like a rattle while his bleeding arm limply dangled.

"I'd rather you wait until we started our sessions to fight. Do you understand?"

M looked at me, then back to his tutor, but he didn't nod back.

"In any case, come, Shine. After we heal you up, we can wash you and give you your breakfast. Then, we can start training today."

I didn't even know if I could've in my state, but I tried anyway. Despite wobbling to my hindpaws, I managed to stand up. My face stung like a Beedrill, but at least I could walk. I got closer to my tutor and looked at what he was doing. Not that I wanted to look him in the eye; in fact, whenever I saw that yellow glow of his in them, my gut churned. But he was licking M's face, like one would do to their Electrike cub, and the Marowak growled affectionately as if Bolt was his parent. Part of me wanted to take M's place, but I knew that would never happen. But Bolt took me in regardless and went through our morning routine together. He didn't speak to us, even as he watched the staff bathe me and M. Nor did he speak to us when we shared our berry bunch with each other. But once we had finished, the first detention session started for real, in a more organised fight this time with Bolt watching over us. M ran towards me, swiping with his bone club, and I ran and dodged to no avail, while M's more aggressive attitude always gave him the advantage.

"Come on!" Bolt shouted. "Don't back away when he's exposed!"

"But! But!" I shrieked, in between thrusts and strikes from M, "he's too fast!"

"Look for one, for the white god's sake! Find a spot where he isn't protected, and strike it!"

So I looked, while M ran towards me with that bone club of his. I wasn't so much focused on attacking as I was dodging a possible blow to my weak little head. I kept on doing it, and managed to continuously shake him off, but every time, he'd keep swiping, not running out of energy at all. The more and more he advanced, the angrier and angrier I got, to the point I started growling; not that it did much good for someone like him. Then, he raised his club, exposing that soft belly of his. So that was the opening. I dove in at the first opportunity and chomped down at his tummy, hard. My teeth were regularly brushed by GeL's staff and were well looked after, so keep that in mind. M screamed, toppling to the floor as I tore into him, and for the first time in a battle ever, I actually had the upper hand, or paw. That moment of victory was short lived. He hit back just as hard with his club, launching me against a nearby wall, head first.

Needless to say, the battle didn't end in my favour. But something did happen. Once the staff healed me up in the infirmary, Bolt came to visit with M, though I dreaded it at first, especially with the way I hurt that poor Marowak. The teeth marks still looked fresh on his body as the nurse tried to apply the potion.

"Em-M," I said, struggling to keep my cool in front of them. "I'm sorry. I-I didn't mean to—"

"Quiet, Shine," Bolt said. To my surprise though, he smiled at me, the first time I ever saw him do it out of generosity. "But you did well out there. You're starting to defend yourself more, although you still need practise."

"B-but," I asked, "w-what if I really hurt someone?"

"Like what M's been doing to you? That's the point of a battle; to fight until one side can't stand anymore. That's how it is in the League, and that's how it is training as a Pokemon. But we're strong. We can take on a lot of punishment humans can't. I went through the same trials and tribulations, and even more. Don't forget that when you think back to what your ancestors went through."

I didn't say anything else, but I couldn't exactly argue with him.

"But, if you want your chance to shine in the spotlight in some other way, you'll have the chance to do so soon." He glanced at M, who struggled in the human nurse's grasp.

"Please, hold still," she said while M thrashed about. "It's alright, just relax. Think about a fun thing you did in the past, or a good memory or something. That's what I tell the other students here, anyway."

Her words fell on deaf ears, since M still squirmed in her grasp.

 _"That's pointless, I'm afraid,"_ Bolt said. _"The only way you'll calm him down is if you heal him in the charging station."_

"Right," she said, nonplussed by the talking Manectric beside her. "I'll get the Pokeball."

I turned to Bolt, puzzled by the whole scene.

"Um, s-sorry if this is a stupid question, but does M not understand humans?"

Bolt grunted and looked back at me. "Not when he's in fight or flight mode. When he's cooled off, well, you'll see. Azzy will tell you more about it when he gives you your briefing, I expect."

"B-briefing?" My eyes shot up. "What do you mean?"

"Just as you have something to learn from M, M has something to learn from you. Again, you'll see."

I took his word for it. I looked at him again, expecting him to do something next, like embrace me or give me a bit more of a pep talk. But I backed away, knowing better than to expect anything else from him.

* * *

We were in the detention room again, except this time, the blue rabbit came with a few toys in a wheelie tray.

"Oh, hello Shine," he said with a sad smile. "Are you hanging in there?"

"J-just barely," I admitted.

"Ah, well." He leaned in to whisper in my ear. "I'll give you your briefing later, but I just want you to watch this first."

Standing on the sidelines, I observed as M played about with one of those wooden 'connect the shapes' toys. I don't know what I expected, but he fit all of them in. When he was given more complex toys to play with, like a sorting puzzle with many tiny blocks, he managed to do all of that without skipping a beat. The last thing he was given was a crayon and a piece of paper to draw on. Curio had set the bar rather high, relatively speaking for a Pokemon anyway, so how would M handle it?

He just sat and stared at the paper, unsure of what to do with it. Eventually, the Marowak just crumpled up the paper and tore it into pieces with his teeth, growling as he did so.

"Well done, M," he said. "You did your best."

He blinked, then continued to rip up the paper and scatter them over the floor like snowflakes. After he was satisfied, he turned to his familiar Teddiursa doll and mumbled into it. Its head hung upside down, with the stitches barely holding it together.

"U-um, why does he do that?" I asked.

"That's what we're trying to figure out," Azzy said. "Now, I want you to start teaching him."

"B-but," I said, "I've never taught before."

"Just ask him what he knows about the human tongue for now. It doesn't have to be complicated, it can just be on the spot."

"But what if he—"

"If he tries to hit you, I'll step in." He winked. "I'm not Bolt, after all."

That gave me enough encouragement to walk over to the mobile paper shredder. There isn't much to say about the teaching session. I mumbled and stuttered my way through it, but even if I spoke confidently, I don't think that would've made a difference. M was a strange case, or perhaps not so strange, as you'll see soon enough. He didn't recognise most of the human vocalisations I made, except for a few select words such as 'hello' and very common phrases. There was some understanding, but not enough for him to be caught up with anyone in the wild group, or anyone else. Pressing him to try harder didn't work either, as he growled and threatened to strike me with his bone club. True to his word, Azzy pulled me away before it could escalate.

"Shine," he whispered as he led me to a corner, "you must've picked up on his learning difficulties by now."

"Yes," I said.

"You see—" he glanced at M far away as he stared off into space again- "he's an example of a pure feral. A Pokemon so attached to the wild, that's permanently impacted their development."

My mouth hung agape. That brought a lot of questions to mind, some of which I expressed to Azzy. "Why is he here then?"

He looked to the floor, expression shifting from concerned to saddened. "I don't know. To be honest, I think GeL made a mistake bringing him to this place. He is smart in places like visual processing and battling, but he simply doesn't retain most, if any of the information he gets."

"So none of the classes he's been taking has had any impact on him?"

"Well, barely. He can learn certain things with repetition, but that only shows from his feral background."

Aside from the occasional chattering from M into his doll, the room was silent. The Marowak's vacant stare and tensed up body language said it all. Then, out of nowhere, Azzy hugged me, pulling my electric body towards his.

"I'm sorry about all of this. If what Patches said is true, the way Bolt has treated you is disgusting."

I didn't expect that from another member of staff, of all people. Before I could answer back or linger in the moment any more, Azzy pulled away. Probably a blessing too as his fur stuck up from the static, even more so from being a water type.

"I'm going to make a formal complaint to the higher ups. Whether or not they'll listen to me is up in the air, but this can't go on. Not with you or M. It won't happen right away, but just know that you're not alone in this."

For lack of anything better to say, I nodded in gratitude. After that, the tutor picked up all of the spare toys lying on the floor and carted them back outside. M looked on, unfazed by the whole thing.

* * *

The rest of the day went on in a similar fashion. We sparred. We healed up. Sparred. Healed up. Rinse and repeat. While I still hated it all, gradually, I got used to M's moveset and started defending myself more. I still got hurt a lot, but with the hope that Azzy was trying to sort this out, as well as the sense that I was learning from this, I got more immersed in each subsequent fight.

Then, I thought about what Curio was doing up there, and how she was managing with her lessons. But I also thought back to that argument we had before. I had it blocked out of my mind for quite a while, but right before dinner, that moment had come back to me. I accused her of being a pushover when she wasn't. I took out my own frustrations about my lack of progress on her. I was solely the one at fault.

When my meal came, I didn't have the energy to eat. The food was still as good as ever, yet, I felt like I didn't deserved it. I just wanted to be alone, so I buried myself in one of the beds, hoping not to be bothered by anyone. I'd probably be in trouble anyway for skipping out on a meal, but I doubt they would've cared. I didn't think anybody cared about me at all in that state.

M entered though, noticing my presence immediately and lifting the beanbags off of me. I was completely exposed then. I thought he was going to fight me again, so I curled up in my safe little zone, hoping he would go away. But he patted my side, drawing my attention to him, and there, he handed me a chuck of red meat.

"Eat," he said, holding his blood-stained paw out.

I didn't know what to make of it at first, just staring blankly at the glob of what used to be a Miltank. He nudged it towards me, and kept doing so until I backed down and took the morsel straight from his paw. It was tough and bland, but it was filling, and I didn't mind how it wasn't cooked. They made sure to feed it to us semi-regularly anyway so our stomachs could get used to digesting it easily. The same couldn't be said for the more human-like Pokemon, so it only applied to us wild descendants.

Even after I ate, M was still there, staring off into space, but I got the impression he was waiting for something. I got to my feet, meeting his gaze.

"Why did you come after me? I thought you didn't like me."

He shook his head.

"You're weak."

"I know." I looked to the side. "Sorry."

"Sorry is a sign of weakness too."

"Sorry!"

He grunted and tapped my shoulder.

"I can make you stronger."

"Yes, I know you can. You're fast and fierce and, well, everything I'm not. I wasn't raised like you were."

He squeezed my shoulder, then threw a fist at my face. That time, I reacted and jolted awake, cancelling his punch with a claw swipe.

"E-enough!" I stood on all fours, teeth bared. "You can't keep doing that!"

"Won't. Do not talk about past. Talk about present."

"Alright, I won't." I relaxed my posture, but still kept my guard up in case he struck again. I didn't want to leave it like that, so to show my gratitude, I bowed to him. In turn, he went up and patted my head.

"Mate will come."

That threw me off guard. "M-mate? What do you mean?"

"Lucario. Mate."

"O-oh!" I squeaked in surprise. "Y-you mean…"

What M meant went without saying.

 **(Well, he wasn't wrong, yanno.)**

Um, excuse me, Curio?

 **(Just kiddin'.)**

Ah, well then. Still, when he said that, that got me thinking. Curio, or rather, you, were the closest person I got to know aside from Patches. I confided in you when I needed it, and you did the same when you went through certain hardships of your own. I wanted to know whatever you were drawing, and you wanted to know whatever I was reading. So it wasn't a stretch of imagination for others to see us that way.

From there, that steeled my resolve. The next time I would see her, I would apologise and admit my own mistakes. My appetite came back to me and I wolfed down the rest of my meal in no time.

* * *

A few days passed. I bled. I cried. I tried my hardest to get through to M. But while progress was slow, and the endless strings of fights were daunting, I improved over time. I was able to dodge most of M's moves. And when I couldn't dodge, I didn't cower like a hatchling, but instead, braced myself, withstanding more of his attacks. Even though I was greatly outmatched by his move typing, once I picked out his weaknesses in other places, such as how he'd forget to shield his stomach sometimes, I learned to compensate for that.

Bolt watched, but instead of silently eyeing me with scorn, he looked with interest. Of course, whenever I made a mistake, he was quick to point it out, but whenever I learned from said mistake, he did the same as well. Each bit of praise from him was like a drop of water in a desert of sincerity, meaning I savoured every positive comment he made.

This all culminated in one battle where I changed for the first time. It started in a typical fashion where M mercilessly rushed forward. However, when I saw an opening, I bit down on the club, pulling away with so much force that I flung it across the room out of his reach.

"Good, Shine!" Bolt called. "Keep going!"

I didn't have time to digest that bit of praise before M lunged forward with his fists. I didn't have time to dodge that one, but I braced myself. The pain was dull, but nothing I couldn't recover from. When I heard footsteps rushing away from me, I knew to run after him, pouncing on him before he even had the chance to get his bone club back. He flailed and screamed, but I wasn't deterred. I bit into his side, soft enough to not make any lasting wounds, but hard enough for it to have some sort of impact.

He escaped, but not long after, we were neck and neck, trading blows and claw swipes. There, we fought each other as equals now instead of student and master. After a while, we had to catch our breath. We were exhausted, but not overwhelmed. For the first time ever, I was glad to actually hold my own in a fight.

White light enveloped me. I can't quite describe the sensation, but similar to what Curio said, it was like someone moulding your body from clay. Something grew around my head. My tail got bigger. The muscles in my arms felt stronger. My claws felt sharper. And when the light disappeared and the two in the detention room stared in fascination, I realised what I had finally become: a Luxio.

"Well, congratulations, Shine," Bolt said, sounding pleased this time. "How do you feel?"

"Certainly different." That time, I felt confident to speak.

"Excellent. You've made good progress lately." He grinned. "I expect you'll be a fine and noble Luxray in no time."

I mumbled a word of thanks, not knowing how to feel about the compliment.

He then sniffed loudly at the air, purposely hinting at something going on somewhere else. "I smell Basil's cooking. I will let you off the hook for now, so you two are free to enjoy whatever he's offering for today. Still, I expect you to come back after he's finished. Have fun."

Before he left to god knows where,he playfully licked my face. I held my paw to my chin, which dripped with saliva. He actually did that. Him. I thought I was supposed to be happy when that happened. I finally gained his approval. I finally got some positive attention. But it didn't conjure up anything inside me. Thinking about that made me forget the presence of M in the room until he prodded at me with the club again.

"You're stronger," he said.

"Thank you." I approached M, not afraid to be near him after that scuffle, and licked at his wounds. "Sorry again for that."

He grunted. "Sorry is a sign of weakness."

"I know, I can't help it. I guess you're going to have to get used to that." I sniffed at the air, and indeed, the pleasant aroma of the cafeteria wafted through the air. I started walking towards the door, expecting M to follow me, but he just stood there, still unmoving. Before, I would've just left him to it, but here, I felt I had to reach out to him. So I went back to his side and turned him around.

"C'mon," I said, "aren't you looking forward to it? Don't worry, I've heard Basil's a good cook from what Tom told me. He hasn't poisoned him yet, so…" I trailed off, expecting M to put two and two together, but still, he stood there, unsure of what to do.

"What's wrong?"

"Not hungry," he said, looking at his paw. "We hunt only when needed. Why eat when not hungry?"

"I—" I was about to call him out on it, but then I realised he might not've understood the social situation. "You know Basil, the Lickitung, right?"

He nodded.

"And you know he's been training to cook all this time? He wants us all to try it for him. Since he started his focus, he needs people to judge his cooking."

"Pokemon…" He paused. "Pokemon cook? Not out there."

"Well, they do here!" I raised my voice, getting a little frustrated, when M's eyes widened again. He must've been shocked by that outburst. I was about to apologise again, then remembered it wouldn't have done any good, and simply tugged at his paw with my maw. "C'mon, M, it'll be fun. Trust me."

He opened his mouth, trying to say something else, but stopped. Then, he turned to his bed where the doll was and picked it up, cupping the Teddiursa in his paws. He nuzzled his cheek against it, then said: "Be back."


	33. Just Desserts

Tony stopped recording, gesturing Shine to get off the couch, and when he did, his trainer scratched his ears.

"You've come a long way," he said, "It sounded tough, but I'm glad you were able to stick it through then."

 _"Indeed,"_ Shine said with a sigh. _"It wasn't all pleasant. And again, worse things happened later. But if it wasn't for that extra push, it would've taken me a lot longer to evolve."_

"Well, there you go." Tony glanced at Curio. "What about you though? How were you getting on with your human classmates after that?"

She shrugged. _"Better."_

"If you don't mind taking up the seat this time, I'd be happy to hear it."'

 _"Yeah, yeah, I gotcha."_ She cosied into the couch and adjusted herself for Tony's camera as he was about to press record.

* * *

 **(Leading up to your meeting with Shine's new form, what did you do in the meantime?)**

Well, since that first lesson, we worked our way through various assignments. You know, making basic shapes with clay, then putting those together to make figures. That was the first thing I learnt to do, so I felt pretty confident at the start, then the next assignments came, where we had to put together more complex shapes, like actual Pokemon. It was fun making a Metapod actually, though it kind of looked like a petrified turd. Or a you-know-what.

 **(Charming.)**

What? It did! Anyways, after I had that spat with Shine, things kinds of went downhill from there. I didn't really feel like drawing or making anything at all, even though I tried. I stared at the sketchbook, only to not make a mark, even after an hour of consideration. So when the next focus session came, I was kind of lost. But let me set the scene a little.

Okay, so first things first, that was my next meeting with the human Ellie. When she entered the room, she said 'hi', but I didn't really bother saying it back. I dunno. One look at her stirred up that last chat at the bench that didn't go so well. Not that it was her fault, but even then, I didn't want to dig it back up. But no matter. We had to make a clay vase, side by side, with her as an example while I tried to copy what she did. The start wasn't too bad; I basically threw down a chunk of clay and molded it into a ball. Then it spun on the wheel, making a whirring sound which surprised me at first. Then, I watched it spin around for a moment, mesmerised by its cycle. It was one of those things I could've watched for ages. Or maybe it was just a way for me to take my mind off of things.

"Uh, Curio?" Ellie said, splashing water onto the clay. That got me out of my trance and I followed suit.

So it didn't seem that hard at first. Then I had to hold it by the sides and wait for the clay to gradually build up. I squeezed too hard and then, flop, it fell apart. I grumbled and rubbed my clay-caked paws together. But no biggie. We started again and got to the same stage, and this time, I got it to a reasonable height. Then we had to hold the outside together while making a well on the inside. Easy for Ellie and her opposable thumbs, but not so easy for me, so out of a lack of care, it fell apart again. And again. And so, the more it broke down, the more frustrated I got. Ellie and the teacher looked over at me, concerned.

"It's alright if you're having trouble, Curio," the teacher said.

" _Fine, can do it myself,"_ I grumbled. I just didn't want them to think any less of me, or think I was struggling just because I was a Pokemon. But when it happened again, well, I kind of lost it. I punched the ball of clay on the wheel, splattering it everywhere. All over Ellie's apron, all over the workshop, and it even got to bits of my fur even though I had an apron on too. They both looked to me, at a loss for words. Their aura pretty much confirmed the same. So it was just me there, about to bubble over like an overfilled kettle. Like, what the hell was I doing there, and why was I trying to convince myself I could do a human's job? It was all getting to me, combined with the stuff already on my plate.

Thankfully, Ellie was there to step up, picking up the bits of clay that'd fallen by her feet. Forgetting myself for that moment, I took a deep breath and knelt down to help, half-tempted to look away from her.

" _Sorry,"_ I said.

"Don't worry about it," she replied with a smile. "But, hey, do you wanna stop to talk for a bit? I'm all ears."

" _No you're not. You've got eyes and hair and—"_

"That means I'll listen."

Crap. So that was one human expression I had slept on. But no matter. Once we were done, Ellie took me to a corner of the room while the teacher restocked the material.

"Hey," Ellie said, holding her muddy hands together, "what's on your mind?"

I grunted. _"Nothing."_

"Aw, c'mon." She frowned. "It doesn't take someone with aura to know you're feeling down."

" _Really?"_

"Yeah." Ellie sighed, making a squelching sound with her palms, then looked straight at me. "Alright, I'll just say it. I'm sorry about that flat thing a while ago. It wasn't really fair on you."

I shrugged at that. _"Read his aura. I know he wants you."_

"Well, no duh. Even without that, I've seen the signs. He's the guy I mostly hang out with here, so…" She nervously twiddled her fingers. "But, it's not that easy."

" _Why? Tell him how you feel."_

"It's a bit more messy than that. I know how he feels, and I kinda like him too, but we aren't that close yet, so, eh? If he wants me, he needs to put up a fight."

" _Like—"_ I threw a punch at the air, _"this?"_

"Well, in the mind, really. He needs to try and let me know on his own. It's not a girl's place to ask guys out, you know."

" _Why? What's so different?"_

She shrugged. "It's just the way it's always been."

" _Why?"_

"I dunno."

" _Sounds stupid."_

She chuckled at that. "Maybe it is. But what I'm getting at, is, he needs to ask if he wants to take the next step. And if that means leaving you out, then I don't wanna be a part of that. I didn't end up going with him that night, since I knew you were kind of upset."

" _You… did that for me?"_ That got me to smile, at last. _"Thanks."_

"Anytime." Ellie picked some of the clay off her apron. "But with that out of the way, what's bothering you?"

That last argument still kind of burned. _"A friend. He's bein' dumb, but it'll be fine."_

"Don't I know it. But if you say it's fine, then, I guess you should give it time and wait it to blow over a little, huh?"

I rubbed my aura sensors, only for my paw to stick to it. Me and my dumb reflexes. I did my best to rub the dirt off before continuing. _"Dunno."_

"Just focus on something else for now."

" _How? I tried drawing again, but… I couldn't do it. Everything was bugging me."_

Ellie looked to the teacher, who was setting up the two wheels again. "C'mon, I'll give you a hand and tell you."

We did the same thing we did before, but when I got to that tricky stage, Ellie stepped in to hold the clay in place while I moulded it in my image. Well, not literally, but putting little bumps and curves in it was a way of injecting myself into it. Any excess clay at the bottom, I shaved off with my paw spike.

"Heh," she said, "that's one use for that spike, I guess."

" _You think? I wonder why we have these anyway?"_

"So it's easier to hunt? But what's the chest spike for?"

I shrugged, putting more bumps into the mould.

"But anyways, it seems like you're enjoying this, though you had to ease yourself into it, didn't you?"

I nodded, not taking my eyes off the task.

"Art's a strange thing, y'know. Sometimes, I get days where I can't make or draw anything, but that's okay. It takes time. So be kind to yourself."

She had a point. Before, I guess I was trying to force myself to do something, even when I wasn't in the mood for it.

In any case, although I was a bit shaky about a human helping me out when it should've been my own learning experience, having another hand helped out a lot. Unlike before, Ellie didn't try to sugarcoat things or talk down to me, so that set me at ease. But after a while, the session drifted by, and I came out of it inspired and ready to create again, and with a vase waiting to be cast as well! I was totally gonna paint that later. There wasn't much I could've done about the Bolt situation, so I just decided to wait it out and unwind.

* * *

 **(Did anything else happen in between?)**

Er, no, there wasn't that much else to that week. On the day I saw Shine's new evolution, I was just chilling in the base, doodling away, when the door opened and a faint aroma wafted in. Tom the Munchlax was outside, with crumbs stuck in his face.

"Hey," Tom said."Basil's making his first meal for all of us, so come along!"

Everyone turned to face him, with lots of ears perking up and noses sniffing the air. Anything the other guys were doing, like Fernes reading through all those tomes or Floatsam lazing in the water were all thrown to the wind as they ran out of the base.

"H-hey, wait for me!" I said, tossing my sketchbook aside to join them. True to Tom's word, there was cooking going on, which filled the hallways with a thick air of savoury smells. I was drooling for real, panting all the while as I ran through the corridors. It was Basil's awaited day where he would show off his cooking talents and be judged by us. Of the stuff he cooked, we were only told to eat in moderation, but oh well. The staff already gave us a good diet, so that was one luxury we could afford.

Finally, we went inside the cafeteria, where the smell of oil was even more noticeable, and quite a few of the subjects were already there, waiting on the promise of Basil's goods. Even that Gastly was there, though I couldn't really gather how it could enjoy anything for the taste. Of course, Ab had to be there too, but I did my best to ignore him, or else pound his face into pizza dough.

In turn, Tom headed out, fetching more of the subjects. Everyone else was excited. Hans had to be reigned in by Fernes to stop him from raiding the kitchen. But even though that was all going on, the one thing that crossed my mind was Shine. It had been a while, and I had seen some of his progress by peeking in with my aura, so what would happen here? Surely, Bolt would have some sort of conscience and let him enjoy this meetup; detention couldn't have been that strict, could it?

Speak of the devil, that was the moment Shine and M entered. Shine wasn't just a Shinx anymore; he was a properly evolved Luxio, with a mane, beefier muscles, and all that other stuff. He had been through some wear and tear though, with bags under his eyes and a few scratch marks, so I take it they had just battled. He must've looked as shocked as I was, but nevertheless, he walked over to me, trying to keep an eye on that Marowak.

"Hello, Curio," he said. "Good to see you again."

"Hey," I said, "you look like _crap_."

"Well, thanks. I guess my battle scars are starting to show."

"Yeah, about that—" I glanced at M— "what's he doing to you?"

"Nothing. We've just been battling, like we usually would in the tests. He's been helping me out."

"Alright." I reached out to try and pet him, then suddenly pulled back, looking to the side. I hadn't exactly forgotten about that quarrel.

"I'm sorry," he said, sitting up straight with a confident gaze. "I said some hurtful things to you. You've been there for me the whole time and I was too bitter about my own failures to realise it then. I hope you'll forgive me, Curio."

I smiled, then finally let my paw down to pat his head.

"Yeah, water under the bridge, as the humans say."

And that was that. Soon enough, an assortment of covered plates came in on a wheelie tray, and Basil followed not long after.

"Pardon the wait, but it's nice to see you all here!" He spun around to look at all of us. "Since this is my first group meal, I'd like you all to tell me what you think of everything! Don't worry about offending me if you think it's garbage." He patted his stomach. "I have a thick skin, after all, and if you're worried about wasting food, Tom here will gobble it all down. Or store it in his fur and forget until it goes moldy."

"H-hey!" Tom said, brushing his coat, "that only happened once. Once!"

"Right, sorry. But anyway, as they say in Kalos: _bon appetit!_ "

His human helper set down all of the dishes and lifted the covers off, revealing the whole hog for us to chow down on. Well, maybe not a hog, more like a piglet, if that makes sense. Between all of us, the portions were very tiny, so there were only a few things we could put down on our plates, but that didn't matter as much as the variety of stuff on there.

Creamy mushroom sauce drizzled over (apparently gluten-free) pasta, with lots of veggies heaped on top. Fried Octillery with tartar sauce on the side. Torchic n'Rice balls. Gooey cinnamon and raisin cookies. A yoghurt and Nanab parfait. All the works. There were probably more I can't recall off the top of my head, but they were the ones that stuck out the most to me. He thought about everything, from starters to dessert, all garnished and seasoned and all that. If my face wasn't a fountain of drool back there, then it certainly was then.

God, if it wasn't for the fact we just had a takeaway, I'd be having a serious case of the munchies for all of those.

Once they handed us the plates, I sampled each course, and aside from a bit of lumpy bread, everything else was delish. Everyone else's reactions pretty much said the same thing; even Ab's, and he was rarely pleased with anything. M, however, stared at the plate, and from what I sensed in his aura, he was having trouble figuring out what to do with it. Before Shine even tended to his own meal, he went to M's side.

"Don't worry, it's safe," he said. "Basil wouldn't have cooked it if he didn't think we could eat it."

M grumbled his signature grumble. Then, he picked up one of the rice balls and bit into a small portion of it, slowly chewing as if to savour it. I stared attentively, watching out for anything sudden he might've done. Then, he swallowed.

"This is..." He struggled to find the words for it, until he chomped the rest of it down in one go.

"Glad you enjoy it." Shine said, "Now, I've got to eat my own—"

"Why?" Tears pooled in M's eyes, turning them from blank to soulful. Now that was a first. M looked to Basil, who was busy discussing the meal reception with his human partner, and tugged at his paw.

"Yes?" Basil tilted his head.

"Why…" That Marowak trailed off, at a complete loss for what to say. "Why cook for me, after..." He tried to speak, but all that came out were groans. I could tell he was really struggling to put his thoughts to words, however muddled they were.

To that, Basil shrugged. "No reason, really. I wanted everyone to judge my food, yes, but at the same time, it's nice to see everyone enjoying themselves." He smiled widely, showing off his big tongue. "I just want everyone to feel at home here. We deserve that much."

"H-home…" M's voice wobbled, then, he burst into tears. Now THAT was a first. Not only that, his aura was starting to pull itself apart, struggling to stay wound up in that tangled web of repressed emotions and memories. Then, he freaking bolted it out of the cafeteria, not even stopping to say goodbye. I looked on, speechless, as did the rest of the subjects around the table as well. Basil at the centre of it all laughed nervously.

"Oh dear. I guess I can call this meal a success. Maybe it worked a little too well."

"Sure, it's delish," Hans said, cupping a half eaten ball in his paws, "but I don't think I'd be crying over it." He chomped down the rest, and I thought that would've been the end of it. Then it hit me. M's feelings rushed into mine, and I put a paw over my mouth.

"He—" I said, muffled, before I put my paw down and sighed. "His aura. I've never felt anything like it."

"Like whaff?" Hans said in the middle of his mouthful.

"Just… happy, but also really sad. It was really strong." As the emotions trickled out of me, my mind felt exhausted, and I sat down on the floor. "Ouch," I said, rubbing my head. "Is there such thing as an aura ache?"

"Dunno," Hans said back, swallowing. "Don't ask me."

"Um," Shine started, "do you think I should go after him?"

"Hmph," Ab said, dabbing at his face with some tissues. "You shouldn't concern yourself with the mind of a wildling. I pity your stay in detention with him."

There it was. He literally could not last a minute without running his trap. Everyone else turned to him at that point, all with some grouchy look on their face. We all waited for someone to speak up at first, until Basil stepped in and crossed his arms. "Ab, please. I don't want this to be another wild discussion."

"Well, why not? These creatures clearly don't belong here."

I turned away, not wanting a part in any of this at first, yet, another part of me wanted to see where the conversation went. Basil's aura spiked up, radiating an intense heat, but his face didn't show it at all. I shovelled more food in my mouth as I kept watching.

"I invited everyone here. Not just for the Mon in my base, but all the other ones as well. They're really enjoying it. Why would you wanna take that away from them?"

"Because again, they do not belong here, they are—"

"Abraxas!" Basil bashed his fists on the table, making an awful clattering noise that made everyone go silent. Even Tom stopped chewing, as his cheeks puffed up like a Pachirisu's on full charge. For a brief flicker, that Lickilicky's face scrunched up, but as soon as he realised everyone else around him, he closed his eyes and exhaled. "Ab," he said in a grave tone, "they're here to have fun. I'm here to learn from my cooking experience. For once in your life, try not to make this about you, and by the white god's _ass_ , eat the _damn_ food."

Ab's eyes widened. For a second, there was a small break in his aura that wasn't protected by his psychic field, and for once, I detected a bit of guilt. That didn't last long, but it still reflected in his gaze. The room went silent after that. Some of the subjects pretended it didn't happen, munching on what was left of their plates, and others whispered to themselves. Basil's human helper was completely lost on the whole thing, the poor sod. Everyone else in my group stared daggers at Ab, especially Fernes, whose nostrils flared, literally. In fact, she was the first to step up to him and stand face-to-face.

"Abraxas," she said. "I heard from Curio that you used to be in the wild, is that true?"

"You—" Abraxas sharply turned before Fernes blew smoke in his direction.

"Talk to me, not her. If we're to learn under the same roof, we should also learn to get along with one another. If you're really that disgusted with us every time we enter your train of thought, well, honestly, I feel sorry for you."

"I do not need your pity."

"In that case, think of it like this." She huffed and butted into him. "If you keep turning on your own kind, then pity is the best you deserve."

"Yeah!" Floatsam said, pumping his flipper in the air. "Er, what she said!"

"Well then…" He chuckled and held out his arms like he was giving a speech at a gala or something. "I can live with that. I have lived with all kinds of hardships. You will never know the depths of my knowledge, or my struggle, or—"

I couldn't stand listening to that guy anymore to be honest, so I just tuned out. Just the way he talked and just the way he acted was something, but this was the last straw, and now he wanted us to feel sorry for him. I balled my paw into a fist, gathering up some aura, then stopped myself. Surely, he would realise he was being an ass and wave the white flag soon, right?

"And you, especially, Curio," Abraxas said, pointing at me, "you are a blight upon this world."

Okay, maybe not.

"Yo." Hans whispered as he handed me a juicy-looking Pecha berry. "Paint that yellow guy pink for me."

I didn't even question where he got it from, but I squeezed the berry in my paw, then threw it at Abraxas' yellow dome. Splat. It exploded all over his face, covering him with juice. Another moment of dead air. Then, he braced himself, claws shaking with fury.

"Why," he said, "you sullied me! Lowly animal!"

He raised one of his spoons, and hey presto, flung his plate across the room without so much as touching it. I dodged just in time, narrowly avoiding getting beaned in the face with it, only for it to hit another subject beside us. The bowl broke. Shine fell to the floor, covered in a mess of condiments and ceramics. That was it. I vaulted over the table and sprinted towards that yellow bastard. I jumped, and kicked his head, socking him in the jaw. With any other Pokemon, it probably would've succeeded, but he happened to be a Psychic type, of all things. It only managed to knock him back a few paces.

"You think a lowly fighting type could best me?" he taunted, wagging one of his claws.

"Shaddup!" I shouted, and charged up an aura sphere. I had learnt to control it, so surely that would've knocked the wind out of him regardless of the attack type. Big mistake. He aimed his spoon at the centre table, covering it in a pink light, before it levitated off the ground. My perfectly fine aura sphere vanished. I had to move out of the way. My paws sprang in one direction, only for the desk to come hurtling towards my chest. It hit, knocking me back to the other side of the cafeteria. By that point, the human helper knew the fight had escalated and ran into the kitchen with Basil by his side. It was just us and the other subjects, left on our own.

I got to my feet, recovering from the hit, only to roll away from a chair that hurtled towards me. It collided with the wall instead, breaking into pieces. That was close. What else did he have up his imaginary sleeve? He stood in the middle of the room, about to sprint towards me when he was distracted by something at his side. The rest of the room was pretty much thrown into chaos at that point. Hans took advantage of the situation and playfully threw leftovers and such at the other poor subjects. The Munchlax, Tom, deliberately got in the way just to catch bits of the thrown food in his maw. The others either hid or ran, trying to avoid the wrath of Hans' food flinging.

Right, Abraxas, he was still there. I got up and stood in a stance, trying to prepare a bone rush, made up of the energy within my body to materialise an object out of thin air. I managed to create a femur-looking bone club before Abraxas took notice. I charged towards him, only for him to disappear. Damn, he had teleported. Where to? I picked up his aura from behind me, and turned towards him, only to get blasted with a Psybeam.

If you're not caught up on how our weaknesses work, if you're a fighting type that gets hit with a psychic attack, it's usually game over for you. In the case of a Psybeam, as soon as it hit me, it threw off all my senses. I smelled the colours of the cafeteria: bright pink and orange. I touched what I heard: the shouts felt like blades of grass. My sense of gravity and weight was completed thrown off, so I collapsed to the floor. I tried to get a sense of what I witnessed: which parts were real and which parts were all illusion. I still sensed Abraxas' aura looming above me, preparing to make the next move, though. That was enough for me to latch onto. As long as I could stand up and get a hit on my attacker, confused or not, I'd still be able to bounce back from that handicap. If it meant I could've kicked that pompous asshole's teeth in, I would've done it even if I had no legs to carry myself with.

I shambled to my feet, grabbing at the aura's source. It must've taken him by surprise, since I managed to pin him to the floor. He tried to charge up another psychic attack, but cancelled it out as soon as I started pounding his face with the bone club. He held his claws up in front of him to shield himself from the attack. Eventually, he started fighting back by scratching at me, knocking the club out of reach. I countered by punching him even more. When my senses came back and I clearly saw what we were both doing, the whole thing had devolved into a glorified slap fight. We batted our hands at each other, stuck in a battle loop.

It was the first time I experienced that sort of fight, where you truly had a reason to fight the other opponent and could hold your own in battle. We weren't training that time, or sparring: it was a proper one on one duel. Was this what it felt like to be a Pokemon in the heat of a battle? If it was, then I didn't know what to think of it. I just enjoyed the thrill of bashing that idiot's face in after all that teasing.

Kinda makes me sound like a blood thirsty psychopath, but surely, you must've thought something similar if you've ever been a part of school drama.

 **(Yes, I know the feeling, except with less psychic powers, of course.)**

Alright, good. We're on the same page. Just regular blood thirsty teens, then.

The fight might've lasted forever if it hadn't suddenly stopped. It didn't result in either of us winning or anything flashy like that. I got sucked into that Pokeball, and didn't see the light of day for quite a while. Or maybe a little while. Again, it was hard to tell how much time passed inside that ball when your mind's basically frozen. Once I came to, I was back in that tutorial room, sat in one of the seats with Lucy and Azzy glaring at us. Rhode was there too, but he only smirked, putting his feet up on the table.

"Ahem," Lucy said, "I hope you understand why you're both here in this room."

"Both?" I said, then realised Abraxas was right next to me. I leapt out of my seat, trying to get away from him. "Oh no, I'm not sitting with that _assclown_! You can't make me—"

"SIT DOWN!" Azzy boomed. It was the first time I heard him shout like that, even when he scolded some of his other students in class. Startled by the sudden outburst, I got back to my seat with my tail between my legs.

"You two," Lucy started, crossing her arms. "What you did was unacceptable. You should never start any sort of fight unprovoked, especially when the human assistants are around, minding their own business."

"But, but!" I pleaded, only to bear the brunt of one of Azzy's chalk bullets. Let's hope you've never had chalk thrown at you in school, because man, that hurts like hell.

 **(Not at all. We had the naughty step, but that was as far as they ever got.)**

Heh. Pussies.

"Let me finish before you're allowed to speak. Is that clear?"

Both of us nodded.

"We told you time and time again to set an example, and only use your fighting skills for good and not to set each other apart. You can air out your frustrations in the battle arena, not a place where perfectly innocent bystanders are eating. Mind you, nobody got hurt, but with both of your powers, it was a wonder nothing serious happened. There are janitors that have to pick up the pieces after you lot every day. Don't make more work for them than necessary."

It was kind of hard hearing that from another Pokemon, of all people, but it still had its effect, and I hung my head up in shame.

"Now, I'll let both of you make your cases. Abraxas, you first. Stand up."

He did exactly that, although he wasn't much taller than the table, and he straightened his back. Even when he was being told off, it looked as if he owned the place. Asshole.

"This plebian here provoked me while I minded my own business, and it threw a Pecha berry at my face. I only chose to escalate the matter and protect my wounded pride."

"Do you really have to address them as it?"

"Of course. They are nothing but-"

"Shaddup an' sit back down," Rhode said.

I looked to him, trying not to leap from my seat to strangle that cocky Kadabra. Azzy's glare was enough to keep me at bay.

"Next, Curio. Stand up."

I stood, looking at the three tutors, and took a deep breath. I had to keep my cool and forget about his presence for the moment.

"He kept making fun of the other wild guys, and they're my friends. Even Basil got sick of him. Ab called me out in front of everyone, so I only thought it was fair to throw something at him. He flung the plate and hit one of my friends, Shine. I didn't mean for it to go that far, and wouldn't have fought him first. I stopped myself from flinging aura at him before I even threw that berry, yet he threw a freaking table at me. I couldn't let him get away with that. Is that enough?"

"Yes," Lucy said. "Sit down."

I did exactly that, and sighed. My heart pounded. My fists shook. I wanted nothing more than to get out of that room and forget the whole thing happened. Yet there was still the one other subject that got caught in the crossfire. Even though I knew I would be speaking out of turn, I asked: "Is Shine fine?"

"I told you, you may only speak when spoken to. I will say, he was surprised, but not harmed or upset. Now please, sit quietly for a moment while we decide what to do with you."

The three huddled together and whispered. I tried to peek into their conversation with their aura when Rhode winked at me. I took the hint and stopped. The wait for them to make their mind up was agonizing. With that psychic type right next to me, probably egging me on even from his thoughts, and the tense air in the room, it was just suffocating. Any longer, and I probably would've snapped. Thankfully, Lucy broke the silence when she slapped Rhode across the face.

"A-ah!" He nursed his cheek. "What'd you do that for?"

"You egged Curio on! It's one thing to let slip about Abraxas' past when student confidentiality is respected, but it's another thing to encourage her to fight one of the other subjects!"

"You did what, sir?" Abraxas stood up, clearly offended by Rhode's off-paw comment.

"Yeh, I told her. But guess what?" Rhode leaned forward and nudged the Kadabra's chest with his foot, pushing him back to his seat. "It's about time ya faced the music. You've been gettin' on everyone's nerves 'round here, not just Curio's. I know what goes on in your base. Everybody tries to avoid ya when you talk because you shove how smart you are in their faces. Nobody cares. I ain't gonna mince words here like these other guys."

"That's enough, Rhode." Lucy intervened. She didn't even sound angry at that point, but disappointed. Nevertheless, she cleared her throat and glared at us both.

"Alright, after discussing the course of events, me, Rhode and Azzy have decided to side with Curio in this situation."

I smiled, while Abraxas rose from his seat.

"That's preposterous!"

"Ah, ah, ah!" Rhode chimed in. "It en't over 'til the green lady sings."

"Abraxas. You have a history of teasing other students for their perceived lack of knowledge, so much so that it crosses over into bullying at times. Cartwright took notice of your little speech as well as your previous battle with you and Curio at the end of your first year, and made sure to flag anything up in case it happened again. You drove the other subjects away from the domestic base. Your provocation resulted in the student cafeteria being left in shambles. While Curio was complicit in this as well, you intentionally aggravated her to provoke a fight between you two, and for that, I'll have to punish you. You'll be banned from the library and the computers for three months, and be given regular tutoring by another mediator who will work through some of your issues."

Abraxas' face contorted in panic. "But, but, Miss, please! I need to use the library to conduct my research! I have so much I need to look up; a whole season without any progress is unbearable!"

"Then you'd do well to make sure it doesn't happen again after your probation period is up."

"W-what about detention?"

"Detention would be too good for you. That would isolate you from the other students. With the other subjects, you'll be able to face the consequences of your actions and realise that your words have an effect on those around you. Perhaps the experience will give you a better sense of humility."

"Yeah!" I chimed in, remembering Mom's words. "Chew on that slice of humble pie!"

Abraxas turned, leering at me. "And I hope you choke on your own excrement and die, animal."

"Oh, please stop it!" Lucy shouted, losing her cool for just a moment before she returned to that poker face. "Do you see what I mean, Abraxas? This behaviour isn't acceptable!" She cleared her throat. "In any case, you're dismissed for now. Let's hope your attitude changes once you've stepped away from your studies for a bit."

Abraxas quietly nodded and slunk out of the room. It was just us four at that point. Lucy rose from her seat as well, even though it was pretty redundant since Gardevoir don't have legs.

"Curio. You'll be given one night of detention to cool off."

"O-oh," I said, rubbing my head. "That doesn't seem too bad."

"Consider this a friendly warning, but I must remind you that you're not a Riolu anymore. You're growing into a more mature Pokemon. I expect you to act like one, so please, pick your own battles next time and be the bigger Mon when someone beneath you tries to start up needless conflict. Is that clear?"

I opened my mouth to protest, but decided against it. She was right. Even though I should've known not to play that game with others, with Abraxas, it was completely different. His entire existence just really bugged me, especially the way he carried himself above every other Pokemon, as if he was this high ranking human. Yet me and him were both Pokemon at our core, who ended up fighting each other regardless of what was said before. What would've Trunks done? Certainly, he wouldn't have lost his head in such a way. Even if he was away, I still had to make him proud and follow his example. So I nodded and quietly apologized, admitting defeat. Besides, I had a headache. After that was done, I just wanted to rest, even if it was in that dingy detention room.

"Good. And you, Rhode." She stared daggers at him as he picked at his ears. "I expected much better from you. I'll be talking to Cartwright about this."

"Yeh, go on, tell 'im. I don't care." He flicked a bit of wax across the room. "You've gotta admit though, you were waiting to give Ab a taste of his own medicine, weren't you?"

"Perhaps." It looked as if she blushed, but as quickly as it appeared, she shook it off and returned to her cold stare. "But I still can't excuse this behaviour from you. In any case, good day, Curio."

A wink from her broke that icy glare. I had no idea what that hinted at, so wearily, I made my way through the hallways, down the elevator and into the boiler hall. I knew who would be down there already, M and Shine, but what I sensed was something I wasn't expecting. First, I heard heavy breathing and a clunking sound, so hard that it echoed through the corridor. Then, Shine screaming "Stop!" I freaking bolted it to the other side of the hall and threw open the door, ready to jump to Shine's defense. What I saw next, well...

M sat with his back to the wall, bashing himself over the head with his bone club. Each hit resounded through the air with a clunk clunk, clearly hitting him hard, and yet, he continued. He didn't even notice me until the door shut, and when he did, M stood up and faced us, with blood trickling down his face. My gut reaction was to step in and stop him, no matter how much he would've resisted, but when Shine bit the club and threw it aside, there was no reaction at all. Tears fell down that Marowak's face, mixing in with the dripping red, and he fell to his knees, sobbing.

"Don't—" he said, "don't deserve this. Don't deserve kindness. Don't deserve love. Don't deserve anything."

I didn't know what to say to that, or how to even act. Would he have calmed down if I stepped up, or would he just have lashed out again? Ashamed as I am to admit, I stood and did nothing. But over time, M mellowed out, if only because he was bleeding from the head and getting weaker. He looked at a toy behind him, that Teddiursa whose head just hung by a thread at that point. Then, before he fainted, he said this:

"S-s-sis..."


	34. (M)onster Part 1

**Warning for this chapter: Blood, trauma, and implied abuse.**

* * *

Shine took the hot seat that time as him and Curio swapped places. Although it was following up from before, his heart still pounded. He would have to talk about that day when it happened. He sighed, drawing his trainer's attention to him.

"Are you sure you want to do this right away?" Tony said. "I think I remember this part being the-"

" _Yes, I'm fine,"_ Shine snapped. Oh dear. He locked eyes with Tony, instantly apologetic. _"Sorry. I didn't mean to lash out. I just know what you mean."_

"Alright, no worries," he said with a reassuring smile, holding the camera. "On the count of three…"

* * *

When M fainted, Curio took him in her arms and ran for the door. I followed behind her, catching sight of a puddle of puke in the corner of the room that had the Torchic ball in its remains. As we dashed through the hallway of the lower floor, footsteps rushed down, belonging to Rhode, Azzy and Bolt.

"What are you two doing out?!" Bolt yelled. "Don't you know the meaning of deten—"

"Shut up!" she said, holding out the bleeding Marowak for all of them to see. "He's hurt! Get some help!"

Bolt, immediately changing his tune, nodded and rushed over to Curio's feet. "Put him on my back. I'll take him in."

So she did, and Bolt carried M all the way to the elevator, where they advanced to the upper floor. Then, there was Rhode and Azzy, who both looked concerned.

"U-um," I said, shaking, "s-sorry I broke detention rules. I—"

"Och, enough, pussycat," Rhode said, "I think we can bend 'em a bit."

"Besides," Azzy said, fiddling with his long ears, "we wanted to talk to you two about M anyway. He's been a bit of a concern of ours for a while. But maybe we can fill you in over some tea."

"Tea, coffee, cocoa, whatever," Rhode said, "tea's borin' anyway."

While we weren't sure where this was going, we didn't seem to be in any trouble, so it was best to go along with it. We entered the elevator after them, and they led us up to the staff room next, where Lucy and Patches were talking with one another over stitching patterns. While we had seen each other in the cafeteria, I didn't have the chance to properly talk to him about my experiences. As soon as he saw me though, he rushed over to glomp me.

"Shine!" he said, nuzzling against my cheek, "you've changed, mon!"

I hadn't looked at myself in the mirror lately, but judging by my recent evolution, I must've looked a bit more mature than before. "Yes, I guess so."

With that, the staff joined around the table and offered Curio a seat, which she was now tall enough to properly sit in, but me and Patches were carried up to the table where we had our own bowls of tea to sip.

"So," Azzy said, kneading one of his ears, "you might've noticed that M isn't a high performing student. I'm saying this more as a summary than to fill you in, but we've been discussing this all around the board. Since we've concluded that M is a pure feral, and that he wouldn't benefit from it, we're thinking of sending him away."

That came as a surprise. Of course, M stuck out like a sore paw, but he had still been a part of the group for over a year. Curio frowned, even though she wasn't too familiar with him except on a surface level. For someone like me, who experienced that first hand, that was a little more of a blow than I was expecting.

"So, where's he goin'?" Patches asked, tail swishing behind him. Even he seemed curious about it.

"I don't know, but it's not up to me. It lies more in what Rhode, Lucy and the rest do."

"Yeah, about that, rabbit," Rhode said, crossing his arms, "it kinda feels like we've given up on 'im early. C girl." Curio's ears perked up at that one. "Tell me what he said to you."

She repeated M's spiel about the 'kindness' stuff almost word for word, which Rhode nodded at.

"Doesn't deserve love or kindness. He understands those things, more than I can say for most wilds. Don't you think we're on the verge of a breakthrough here?"

"Well, yes, but I still think he'd be better off some place else. We don't have enough to go on to make a case for him."

"But what if we took a bit longer, then we could squeeze it out of 'im! After all that time, d'you think we're gonna forget about him?" Rhode stood up, grabbing the edge of the table. "Is that what we ought'a do for all difficult wilds?"

"Are you seriously suggesting I—" Azzy stood up, pointing to Curio. "How come I took her in, then? I saw she already had potential, as did the rest of the wild subjects, but they all had forms of human contact. M though? There's been no evidence he had ever met another human before he came here. If he was already two years old, being cut off from civilization, then he isn't going to develop past that. There are points where it's impossible for a Pokemon to reach such cognition. Do you GeL people really not understand that?"

"O' course." He stared Azzy down. "I'm just sayin', what if there's somethin' else, like trauma and whatnot? Why d'you think he has that doll he called sis?"

The Azumarill grunted, holding his chin in his paw. "Yes, but we're not psychoanalysts. We can't remove a Pokemon's trauma like that."

"Then why not bring someone in? Did we hire you to decide how that 'appens?"

"Enough, Rhode," Lucy said, fluttering in with a teapot, "respect our staff members."

"Och, so you're on his side now?"

"Oh, by the gods, Rhode! It's either all or nothing with you! Now sit down, before I make you."

"He has to do it too."

"And you, Azzy."

"Alright," he said, doing exactly that. "Sorry, miss."

"Good." She poured herself a cup, sipped, and exhaled. "I wanted to give M a chance. I believed we could've gotten through to him if we tried hard enough." Rhode shot Azzy a smug grin before she continued. "But we can't pour our time and resources into a subject that doesn't benefit from being here. That would defeat the point of our goal."

"So, what, do we send him away?" Rhode snorted. "You can't send 'im back to the wild after we found him near-death."

"Well, no, but we are planning on giving him up. We know it will happen eventually; it's just a matter of when. We would still look after his wellbeing up until that point, but we need to find somewhere that would help rehabilitate him, and we can't do that here." Another sip. "Still, before we come to any decision, we must consult all of the staff associated with him, then carry this up to Cartwright. His word ultimately goes on what happens. But I will arrange a meeting shortly after this one." She downed the whole cup and finished with a smile. "All agreed?"

Despite everything, the two nodded, bringing the issue to a close, it seemed. Yet, there was a certain aching in my heart. I knew M tried, and that last confrontation threw everything else into question for me, but this really wasn't his kind of place. Lucy then turned to me next.

"Well, you've certainly grown, Shine," she said. "I'm sure you'll become a Luxray in no time now."

"I hope so," I said, rather flattered.

"Now, about Bolt." She frowned. "I listened to what Azzy and Patches had to say, and I want to apologise for everything. If I'd known your tutor had such little understanding of your needs from the start, I would've chosen someone different."

I turned away, trying to process my thoughts. I had been so focused on getting better and tending to M that all of the baggage between us slipped my mind.

"Be honest. What are your thoughts about him? What you say in this room stays in this room."

"I…" I didn't know what to say. Curio and Patches all had their eyes on me, and I could tell they wanted me to stand up for myself. When all was said and done, he drove me to get better so I could overcome my weaknesses and evolve. In my head, I tried to rationalise why he did it and sifted through all the memories to justify his cold treatment. The only thing that came to mind was the first few months after I was born, and then, nothing. I just felt so hollow for such a long time before the other subjects came in. With all this in mind, I took a deep breath and continued.

"I don't feel like he was there for me at all. I might've been a little harder to understand that the others, but I'm sure he could've helped me get past that if he tried." My throat tensed up the more I spoke. "I just don't want to feel like a disappointment to him anymore."

I stopped, not really wanting to talk more about it, but they all seemed to take the hint. Curio pulled me closer to her and stroked me, while Patches joined my side, nuzzling me with those static cheeks of his again. Azzy spoke in Lucy's ear, and with a nod, she stood up and collected all of the empty dishes with her psychokinesis, levitating them across the room.

"Thank you for telling us, Shine," she said as she put the last of the tea bowls in the wash basin. "We'll talk to Bolt about this, and decide how to escalate matters." She rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "Except M might still be a problem."

"What do you mean, miss?"

"I just think the two are better suited together, but oh well, we'll think of what to do soon." She turned and offered me a paw. "You may still be in detention, and M's situation won't change that, but we will offer you a deal. If you place well in the next Triple Battle fight test, we'll let you get back to your studies."

"Really?" Curio said, wiping the rest of the cocoa off her fur. "After all that about Bolt, you're still givin' Shine crap for the battle stuff? Why not just call it off?"

"I know, but we still need to make sure our students are in top form with battle." Lucy brought her hands together. "But I am not Bolt. The fight tests aren't a reflection on any subject's worth as Pokemon, which he failed to realise." She smiled at me. "Even with the fight tests, I still think you're a very bright individual."

"Well," I said, tilting my head, "thank you."

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense," Curio admitted. "So, who's he facing next?"

"He'll be paired up with you and Fernes next, going against Bang, Abraxas and Bran tomorrow. For now, I expect you two to go back downstairs."

"After all that…"

"Well, yes. We still mean to discipline you for that fight in the cafeteria, but consider this a good chance to catch up with Shine."

I was taken aback by that. I looked to Curio, waiting for an explanation, before she took the hint and grinned.

"Hehe, long story."

So, we went back to the detention room and Curio told me more about her stint with Abraxas after the fight.

"Good for you," I said. "I don't mean to badmouth anyone, but that Kadabra is, well, I guess the best way I can describe him is intense."

"Yeah, right. That's bein' a bit generous, I think." She laid her head back and sighed. "I dunno why he has a stick up his _ass_ all the time."

I hummed in reply, joining her on the pillow pile. Then, she put her paw on my soft belly and stroked it.

"Oh, Sunshine, sorry about what they did to you and all that."

"It's fine. I—" I stopped when Curio hit a certain sweet spot under my arms, making me purr. "I'm evolved now, so that's one good way to look at this situation."

"Yeah, I know but..." She drew her hand away. "Just hearin' you say that about Bolt and all that, well, it's like, what was GeL doin'?"

"My tutor should've been responsible. It couldn't have been helped."

"Well, no, but what about your Mom out there? Why couldn't they have brought her here, so you at least had that kind of contact, huh?"

"The other subjects didn't have special treatment and they turned out okay. I'm the black Wooloo of the group here. Besides, my Mom is more of a feral, so we wouldn't have that same sort of connection."

"Kind of like M, then. Okay, I guess you're right on that part." She grunted and crossed her arms. "I still think it sucks, though."

I sat up and leaned into her side, silently agreeing with her.

The rest of the day passed quite quickly, considering we were confined to one room. Curio was actually allowed to bring her sketchpad and charcoal with her, so we both had something to do, as I offered to pose in various positions while she drew away. I almost lost balance, holding certain poses for that long, but aside from that, we had fun with it, and it was nice to see the results of her work. It was messy, as her paws were caked with charcoal dust and the paper was very smudged, but her drawings had energy to it, even if it didn't always look right. It was a bit of an improvement on her old crayon work, so she was learning from her studies even if sculpture was a different soft of medium.

 **(Well, not really. You still need that know-how to make a figure look decent; you're just working on a bigger scale. Wow, there I go sounding nerdy again.)**

It's fine. I like hearing you being nerdy. But anyway, dinner came along, and we talked more as we ate.

"Sho," Curio said, in the middle of tearing through a skewer, "howsh the writhing?"

I tilted my head before realising what she meant. "Oh, the writing. They've put that on hold until I can catch up with the rest in the fight tests."

She swallowed. "That's kinda lame."

"To be honest, I hadn't thought of it that much recently. But now you mention it, I would like to get back into it. My story's just been collecting dust."

"About the knight? Yeah, I'd love to see how that turns out."

Before I could finish my own meal, she patted my back.

"Oh! I have an idea! I dunno if you have any other stories in mind, but I'm just wondering, what would you think if we worked on something together?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know, you write something, and I draw it, or make something from it, or whatever."

I hummed. "What would that entail? Like a cartoon or a comic?"

"Somethin' like that, yeah. Not that I know crap about making either of 'em."

"Yes, I imagine that would take a lot of work as well as time. What gave you the idea?"

"Oh, I dunno." She yawned and stretched her legs. "I was thinkin' though, after I went to the museum, I read up on the Smeargle, and they're known for being artsy Mon, aren't they?"

"I believe so, yes."

"Well then. I found out about some of these Smeargle through a show. I've been watching dvds from the library like crazy, and there was this guy that went to film one of their habitats, cause the humans livin' next to them in Violet City had a sort of good history with 'em. Those Smeargle, hangin' out the Alph ruins, formed a sort of group of their own, like a commune or somethin'. They picked up a lot of knowledge from the humans and started making art of their own."

"Would wild Pokemon be able to do that, if someone like M can't?"

"Not usually, no, but from what I gathered, these Smeargle had spent some time with humans, so they had elders and all that passin' what they learned to their descendants, so kinda like how my Mom passed her stuff down to me and my bros."

"Makes sense."

"But that's not all. These Smeargle would work in teams or in pairs and make all sorts of art projects together. At the end of it, you'd either have lots of drawings of different kinds, or just a huge, fun mess on the canvas they worked on. So it was like a whole group effort!" She clapped her paws together. "We could totally do something cool like that together!"

I only muttered in agreement. I could see where she was coming from, but it was a lot to take in, and I wasn't exactly confident in my abilities yet. Still, I said it was a good idea, and to cap it off, she made me pinky swear. Well, we didn't have any little fingers to swear with, let alone opposable thumbs, so we shook paws, promising that we'd work as a team one day to make something everyone in GeL would enjoy. Not that day. But perhaps somewhere in the near future.

 **(Did that end up happening?)**

You'll see, Tony. But perhaps I should get back to the fight test.

I didn't see M come back to the detention room in the morning, so I assumed he was still being treated. Nevertheless, we were up bright and early, all limbered up and ready to prove ourselves. That Medicham came in to guide us both to the battle arena along with Fernes, and when we entered, the other three were already there: the Machoke, the Bibarel, and the Kadabra. My heart skipped a beat at that, especially with Abraxas' presence there. At least Bran was courteous enough to wave at us as we approached, and was the first to come and strike up the conversation before battle.

"Hello," he said. "Are you nervous?"

"Well," I said, wary of the other Pokemon. I didn't want to show my weakness, but I didn't want to lie either. "Perhaps."

"It is a natural feeling." He winked at me. "Remember, mask of confidence. That will get you far."

Abraxas cleared his throat in a deliberate way. "Do you wish to speak to our enemy and give them the advantage?"

"I don't see the issue, Ab," Bran said with a frown. "This is just a test."

I expected Abraxas to protest to this, but he stayed silent, eyeing my wild teammates with scorn.

"Hey, mon," Reggie said, patting down those pink pants of his, "we should get into place soon, yeah?"

We collectively nodded and grouped up in our respective spots on each end of the field.

"Right, mon. You're all up for a Triple Battle, yeah, and three on three is never an easy thing, you dig?"

Another nod.

"Then here's one other condition, yeah?" He gestured to the area around him, where there was a bright, blue line dividing the turf from the rest of the arena. "If you knock anyone out of this line, they're out of the match, got that?"

Yet another nod. "So take five to talk it out, yeah? That way, you'll come in with a good strategy, mon. I'll let y'all know when you're ready."

So me, Curio and Fernes huddled together in a triangle formation away from the other group. I glanced at Abraxas, who all stared at us intently, so I took it as a sign he was trying to listen in.

"We should stay quiet," I whispered, to which, they nodded. "But wait, what if he's using telepathy?"

"He can't read our minds as far as I know," Curio whispered, "and I can't read his aura either. It's all blocked up by that force of his."

"Maybe his head is full of blocks," Fernes whispered. "It would explain his attitude."

We tittered at that, still wary of the other team's presence.

"But uh…" Curio trailed off and rubbed her head. "Well, I'm neutral against Psychic, but..."

"Fighting is strong against Steel on Bran's end."

"But I'm a Fighting type too, how the _hell_ does that work?" Curio raised her voice as much as she could without being heard in the other team's range. "Okay, but Bang's weak against Fighting too, so I can go after him." She frowned. "Damn it. I wanted the chance to put that piss stain in his place."

"I don't disagree with you, but I feel as if you'd made your point already yesterday."

"So, who's taking him on?"

"It'll be important to make sure you don't faint mid-battle, and Ab will most likely go after you once the test begins. So, me and Shine will try to knock him out of the match first, if that's fine."

I nodded, then something crossed my mind. "What about afterwards?"

"We'll think on our feet when that moment comes. At first, however, our priority is taking down the strongest opponent first." She looked at the Kadabra and clenched her teeth. "Besides, I want to prove his views on us wild beasts wrong myself."

"Ditto to that." Curio held out her fist to Fernes, expecting her to do something, and once Fernes took the hint, she bumped her hoof against Curio's. Not wanting to be left out, I joined in, putting all of our paws together. My heart felt lighter for it, and the oncoming fight didn't seem as daunting any more.

"Ready?" Reggie called. We dispersed and stood in formation, facing off the other team as they finalised their plan as well. As they stood away from one another, Bran crossed his arms, tapping his feet on the floor, while Bang chittered to himself, muttering what sounded like 'Abrax-ass' under his breath. I doubt they enjoyed discussing the strategy at all.

 **(Yeah, they freaking hated it. The spike of anger in both their auras was insane.)**

I would imagine so. But anyway, the other three entered their battle stances, waiting for Reggie's call, until…

"Go!"

Before we had a chance to strike, Abraxas held up his spoon and shot a burst of energy to my left side where Curio was. I watched as she swayed in place, trying to get her bearings back on her surroundings. There was no time to dwell on it as Bran and Bang rushed towards us, holding their arms out, ready to strike. I had to run away, and was so focused on myself that I didn't see Fernes in full, only as a bright fiery blur. From my line of sight, orange crashed against yellow, making the other team stop in their tracks. Fernes stomped against Abraxas, pinning him to the floor as she pounded him with hoof after hoof.

That was when Bang ran into the fray, and with his great big incisors, bit down on Fernes' tender leg, making her recoil in pain. Bran just ran towards Curio as she summoned a Bone Club, keeping him at bay. She would hold her own, but Fernes was in trouble. So, I didn't cower away that time, like I usually did, I charged up my static field, and shot a spark at Bang. A lot more powerful this time as a Luxio, with a bolt that whizzed through the air.

It was a direct hit. He let go of Fernes and flopped onto the floor, convulsing with the force of the electric current. He lay there, breathing, but down for the count. Fernes had to fall back, limping as she re-entered the defensive part of our side. That meant Curio was left to deal with Bran. The two were locked in a cycle of trying to make the next move, with Curio charging up her aura in one paw and holding the bone in the other, keeping Bran at a distance. However, he stepped back, calling Abraxas over to him instead, and they switched places. Now he had recovered, Abraxas aimed his spoon at Curio as she tried to move out of the way. She rolled to the side, avoiding his psybeam, which was a win, but then, he gathered a huge ball full of energy, and shifted it towards Curio, covering her whole body in a psychic force. I tried to step in, but Fernes tugged my tail back, stopping me in my tracks.

"Hey," she whispered, "I can't move, but I can still fire, and I need your help."

"But Curio—"

"I know, so I want you to do it quickly. Move out of the way, and at the same time I fire, you fire your own spark in my direction as well." She winked. "You'll see."

I nodded and did as I was told. Abraxas lifted Curio up with his psychic force, levitating her in the air with the spoon's movement. I realised he was trying to throw her out of the arena, but I didn't have time to dwell as I charged up my own spark, at the same time Fernes stood up and her flames spun around her, furiously burning. The air felt hot, and it was getting hard to focus. Still, I honed my mind in on completing the one charge, so I could shoot a successful spark.

"Now!"

I fired metres behind Abraxas at the same time Fernes shot a blast of heat in the air. The two forces collided and combined, creating an explosion that blasted Abraxas metres from the pitch as he rolled across the arena. It whipped through the air, making my ears ring, but I managed to steel myself long enough to see Curio regain her footing, taking a breather from the psychic force. Now she was out of it, she gave us a thumbs up before returning to the fray, then, it was all three of us versus Bran.

Need I mention how it ended? I think you get the point by now, but while Fernes was mostly out, me and Curio dealt with Bran ourselves. Although he lost, he was courteous about the whole thing, and wished me well done for all my struggles. So, all of them healed up after Reggie declared the fight over, and Abraxas stormed to Curio, looking her down.

"You keep embarrassing me, vermin. Do you know who I am?"

Curio stared back at him for a moment, then shrugged it off to return to her own group. Ab didn't follow after us that time.

And that was all she wrote, as they say. The detention was lifted, I was back in class, and for the first time in the while, I rejoined my whole team and got to mingle with them. They all were excited to see that Luxio form, and Milly, that Buneary, still found me cute even with all the battle scars.

 **(Speak for yourself.)**

Oh come on, I had the right to feel a bit full of myself every once in a while. But anyway, to see the people in my group cheering for me and congratulating me for completing the fight test lifted that weight off my shoulders. In short, to see them happy made me happy as well. I finally had my own place in GeL.

That moment of respite didn't last long as Bolt stepped into the cafeteria. No one noticed him at first, but when he joined our table, everyone went silent.

"Ahem, Shine," he said, "I'm pleased to see you've completed the test, but I need you to come with me."

I stared him down. I didn't know what he wanted, but after all he put me through, I'm not sure I wanted to know. Thankfully, Curio stepped to my defense, standing in front of me.

"Beat it, you old fart," she said. "Let him catch a break for once."

He only snorted, shaking off her comment. "This concerns M, so I need Shine to help talk to him, seeing as he spent longer getting to know him." He sighed. "I do not wish to cut your victory short, but this is important to him. He wants you."

I could see where he was getting at. The last meeting wasn't exactly pleasant, but deep down, I wanted to know how he became that way and what I could do to help him. Admittedly, I didn't want him to leave GeL. I didn't want anyone to, even Abraxas, as he had his place there. Plus, I had to thank M in some capacity for training me to the extent he did. So I jumped out of my seat and joined Bolt.

"Sunshine," Curio said, frowning, "really?"

"I'm sorry," I said, "I'll be back, won't I, Bolt?"

"Yes. I promise it won't take too long."

"Alright." She crossed her arms and sat back down. "If ya say so."

He bowed and led me through the familiar hallways. That gave me long enough to get a good look at Bolt, and the way he carried himself that time. His movements were slow and he seemed more lost in his own thoughts rather than preoccupied with holding a standard. At first, I didn't want to talk to him at all, seeing how he gave me little reason to, but I had to ask about M. I took a deep breath and puffed it back out, ready to speak.

"Bolt," I said, "you seem worried."

"I am," he said, dropping his usual strict tone. "I have to be there for M; I'm the only one he'll rely on."

"And why is that?"

"Because, well…" He trailed off and stopped, standing just before reaching the elevator doors. "I might as well tell you, I was the one who found him. Me and the other mediators scouted in the wild, looking for more subjects."

"Like Curio?"

"Yes. We had to be careful though." He changed his tone. "The forests are dangerous. It's easy to lose your head if you don't watch which habitat you step into. And they are often filled with feral Pokemon, who have become so ingrained to the wild that it's impossible for them to become like us. That's putting it simply. So, we only watched out for Pokemon who had that certain willpower, so, we only took them in if we had their permission. We never would've taken any subject in by force."

"Then, where does M come in?"

Bolt sighed. "I found him lying on the grass, barely breathing, as a Starly picked at his wounds. He hadn't eaten for several days, and you could see his ribs poking through his chest. Now, I used to be in the wild as well, so I knew this all too well: a cub had separated from their parents, one way or another, and was on the verge of death. I thought I had moved past that, but I didn't. I saw too many Pokemon who ended up like that and didn't want him to be the same. The usual thing to do was heal up any Pokemon we saw and let them be on their way. Not to interfere. But I stepped in and begged that they take him in. And the rest is history."

Bolt sat down, looking at the buttons with an unspoken air of dread. "I just think, if they send him away after all I've done to try and get through to him, my efforts would've all gone to waste. I tried to get him to speak up about his past. I tried to stop his violent impulses. But how he ended up the way he did is still a mystery to us." He looked down at the floor, scratching the surface with his claws. "Not even Rhode's aura could break through to him."

That was the same kind of sensation Curio got from reading M. I took this all in and sorted through them one by one. Rather than worrying about what I left unsaid, I decided to speak my mind. "So, you took care of him as your own?"

"Well, n—" He cut himself off— "yes, in a way."

I sighed. I knew that answer anyway, but hearing him say that put things into perspective for me. It was a bitter pill to swallow nonetheless. There, I had to say something. Even if it was petty, or spoilt, I just had to let it out. "Then, why didn't you do the same for me?"

He stood up and pressed the down button, calling the doors open with a ding. "Let's not get into this now. I don't want you to start another argument."

A rage boiled inside me. "No, Bolt." I stood in front of the elevator, blocking him from entering. "I'm sick of this. I need answers now."

"You're being silly, Shine. Now get out of the way, or I'll force you—"

For that, I tackled him, pinning him to the ground. I shouldn't have been able to overpower him, but an invisible force in my body pressed down, locking him in a death grip.

"Tell me!" I shouted. "Why wasn't I enough for you?! All the days I spent worrying, wanting you to help, but you never did!" I took a few deep breaths. He just laid there, not moving, waiting for me to let the rest out. But, the rest never came. Everything simmered down, and from there, I released his grip on him. I dug my paws into the ground instead and clawed at the floor. "I was so alone." That was all I could muster. Slowly, Bolt got up and I stood upright, expecting him to dish something out against me. No matter. I wasn't going to back down at that stage. To my surprise, he just sighed and sat opposite me.

"Can I be honest?" Bolt said. I looked to the side, avoiding his stern gaze, but when I came to my senses, I looked back and nodded. "I didn't understand you at all, at least, not when I brought you up. You had problems. Every Mon has problems, especially at an early age, but they're usually something I can grasp. Something physical, like wanting to be stronger, or anything like that. You were different."

"Different how?" I firmly asked.

"It's like you were stuck in the flight mode of fight or flight all the time. I didn't get it. You were treated well. You didn't have to fend for yourself alone with lots of dangerous predators looming over you. Anyone could've been happy with that. But you didn't talk to me. You were just empty."

"And that's my fault?" It wasn't really a question. "Mom was a feral that never saw me. I never had that feeling everyone else had."

"I know." He sighed. "But there I was, convinced that you were out to get me. Like you were punishing me for something I didn't understand. But, now this situation has come to a head, I think I do." Unexpectedly, Bolt bowed, touching the floor with his forehead. "I'm sorry."

I didn't say anything, so I looked away. There wasn't anything left to talk about, not that I wanted to anyway. We had our spat and that was that. The doors whirred behind me, about to shut, but I pressed the button before then, reopening them. From there I entered, Bolt joined not long after, and with a final click, the double doors shut, taking us to the lower level. The descent to that floor must've only taken ten seconds, but it felt like a minute with Bolt in there. At first, we both kept our distance from one another, even though the space was cramped, so we were on opposite ends. Again, to my surprise, Bolt inched closer towards me, closer and closer until he embraced me, nuzzling the top of my head, and licked my face. I didn't move, so I purred, just losing myself in the moment. If things were like the beginning, like they always were, I'm sure I would've felt better.

Eventually, the doors opened, and reluctantly, Bolt led the way out to the detention room. I followed, keeping myself focused again, and mentally prepared myself for my next meeting with M. Bolt must've felt the same way as he stopped, just before opening the door and mumbled something. I didn't hear it, but it didn't have the most positive tone to it. Despite what had happened between us, I could tell he cared about him. Slowly, but surely, he turned the handle.

M slept on one of the plush cushions in a corner of the room, clutching his plush. Once we were within a tail's range, I got a good look at his snoozing form. A bandage covered his forehead, including his little horns, since the damage he had dealt to himself still seemed fresh. Yet, despite that, he looked peaceful, sleeping like a baby, especially with that kid's toy of his. I had never seen M at such ease with himself. Bolt embraced him, burying him in his blue coat of fur, and from there, I could see his fatherly instincts for that Marowak. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't jealous, even after Bolt embraced me back there, but I'm not proud to admit it now. Slowly, but surely, M opened his eyes, and sat up, nudging himself away from Bolt. He stared at me, not glaringly, but longingly.

"Now, go on," Bolt said. "Tell him what you want to say."

M looked away, scratching at the bandaged spot on his head.

"Don't do that," Bolt said. "You'll hurt yourself again."

M pulled his paw away. For lack of something to fidget with, he clutched the Teddiursa harder, wringing it.

"You," M said. "Do… you think…" He trailed off and looked to the side again. I could tell he was struggling to put it into words. "Think, think, think, think." He gently placed the doll on the cushion and patted his chest. "Not there. Something. Not there. Don't know what it is. But it's missing."

I didn't know what he meant by that, but I got the gist of it. All that time, he had been as empty as I was. He probably went through a lot more trauma than I did to get to GeL, given what Bolt said, but whether we were from the wild or born in here, we were under the same roof.

"Do you mean your heart?"

He shook his head. "Not my heart. Wouldn't live without my heart. But…" He was lost deep in thought again.

"Oh, I know," I said, approaching him. "You feel hollow. Like you don't know how to act or what to do, but you know you should. That's why people say it's like your heart. Like your instinct."

"Like prey or escape or mate?"

"Sort of. I mean, something else, like a gut feeling. Like the soul you have."

"Soul. Soul soul soul." He repeated those words to himself, muttering under his breath. "Don't understand."

"I do, though. It's not easy to put into words, I'm afraid."

He pondered on this for a moment, summoning a bone club as he fiddled with it. The way that Marowak looked at certain things with deep concentration in his orange eyes was noticeable. Then, he groaned, rubbing his head.

"Something is missing here too."

I didn't know how to respond to that. Rather than try to damn him with faint praise or agree with him, I let him continue.

"Other Pokemon are strange. Much smarter. I'm just like them, but I'm not. But I try." M looked down at his feet, moisture in his eyes. "I-I'm trying."

"I know." There was a certain pang of guilt at all of that. I came closer to him, wanting to embrace him, to let him know it was alright, when he pulled away. He raised his club at the air, but I didn't flinch. So, he stopped midway and stared at his weapon, still held out in front of him.

"M," Bolt said, coming in between us, "can we talk alone for a little bit? I need to tell you something very important."

M got into a stance, readying his bone club once more. "Not good."

"No, I'm afraid to say it isn't good news. It'll be alright though, I promise." Bolt took him to a corner of the room, however reluctant M was to follow him, and Bolt embraced him, holding him tightly. Again, I could see the paternal instinct there, but there was a new sense of desperation to his eyes. He whispered in his ears, occasionally nuzzling his head as usual. I didn't catch what they said, but, well. They talked about… M… M…

 **(Are you alright, Sunshine?)**

Yes. I'm sure I can handle this. Okay. Again, while I didn't hear what he said, the moment M's eyes widened, I knew. M breathed in and out, in what I assumed was an attempt to calm himself down. When Bolt tried to whisper to him again, M shrieked and freed himself of his tutor's grasp, scrambling to the opposite corner with his bone club in tow.

"M," Bolt said, standing up. "Please. There's—"

"Can't go back!" M shouted, flailing his club wildly. "Not out there!"

"No!" Bolt ran towards him. "I wasn't finished. Please, M, I need you to stay calm."

"Stop. Stop. Stop," M said in short bursts. "Not out there, not out there, not out there…" M kept repeating himself under his breath. With a few swift motions, he tossed the club aside, dashed towards his bed and grabbed the plush, clutching it tighter in his paws. "Don't leave, don't leave, don't leave…" He rocked his body back and forth as he wrung the doll tighter and tighter, squeezing its neck. "Don't leave, don't leave, don't lea—"

The Teddiursa's head fell. With a faint bounce, it rolled on the floor, exposing its stuffing at the base of its neck. All M held was a headless doll.

At that point, the room's atmosphere had completely changed. The tension in it was suffocating, filling the air with a thick fog of dread. Eventually, he went back to inhaling and exhaling, but he was faster, to the point of hyperventilating. I had to get closer to him. There was nothing but terror in his eyes. The only way I could describe that sense of fear was primal. Like how he looked whenever he attacked one of the subjects during his fight or flight mode, except a lot more striking. The old M was gone; this was someone else.

I turned to Bolt, about to tell him to run, when he tried approaching M. His footsteps were slow, but purposeful. His maw hung open, about to say something, but closing at the last minute. Instead, he got closer to M, trying to nuzzle the top of his head like he usually did.

M headbutted Bolt from beneath, horns first. Bolt yelped, pouncing backwards in an effort to maintain his distance. Nonetheless, M dashed, grabbing the bone club in his frenzy, and struck the top of the Manectric's head. The impact was spot-on, as something cracked; in fact, the bone club splintered off, resembling more of a shiv than a legbone. With fragments of marrow around him, Bolt staggered to the floor, still wide awake, but greatly weakened. I stared at his body. Then I looked to M. He stood still, observing the damage for a tiny moment, until he spotted me. The fear in his eyes was replaced with pure rage. He raised the shiv. That was when I ran.

I screamed, running down the halls as fast as I could. M followed at an even paster pace; his footsteps pounding at the hard floor beneath us. Yet I still ran. The elevator was right in front of me, but I couldn't have stopped there. There were stairs just on the right. So I charged through the door and sprinted up, trying to get to higher ground. As long as I made it to the upper floor, I could've escaped.

Then, something slashed at my backside. I fell down mid-way up one of the staircases. Of course, it hurt. But straight after the initial shock of pain, the exact severity of the situation struck me. M had me in his clutches. I spun around, getting back up when M lunged at me with his shiv. It struck again, piercing through my torso. I screamed much louder than before, echoing in the room. Surely, someone would've noticed. Then another stab. Something hot spread in my chest. I couldn't get up, much less attack. I saw this all happening before me as I fell to the floor on all fours splayed out. All I could see was M above me. He raised his broken club. He aimed for the top of my head. I panicked, and with the last surge of energy within me, pounced backwards. Yet there was nothing to pounce back on, so…

I, er, oh god.

It... What I felt, er… The pain was… It was… It was…


	35. (M)onster Part 2

**Same warning applies here: Blood, trauma, and implied abuse.**

* * *

Shine stopped and burst into tears, all streaming down from his single eye. Right then, Tony stopped recording and wrapped his arms around the Luxray. Curio joined them not long after, putting them in a group hug. They didn't say anything as Shine sobbed, letting it all out. Although his other missing eye throbbed, with a slight pain that shouldn't have been there, it wasn't so much the current pain that hit him as the one he felt way back when. How would he have even begun to describe it? Excruciating? Soul-crushing? There were many words for that, but he had exhausted them all. His encounter with that Marowak, though, was another matter entirely. Him being the cause of all that pain didn't feel real.

And all of his buried feelings about Bolt came out too, the ones he had to suppress in front of Tony. He tried to convince himself of the emptiness towards Bolt, but that hunger was still there. Why? Why did he long for the comfort of something that was absent to begin with? Why was he so nervous admitting to Tony how he truly felt?

Shine knew he'd have to talk about this again at some point, and he deeply dreaded it. But after the memory bank overflowed, he needed some rest. A moment passed. Shine eventually gathered himself as he pulled away from the two, rubbing the spot where his other eye should've been.

" _I, er—"_ He sniffled. _"My head hurts."_

"Okay, Shine, okay," Tony said, embracing him once more. "Do you need some medicine or anything?"

" _I'm fine, thanks. I, er, just want to be alone."_

Tony waited for him to say something else, but Shine forced himself out of his embrace and made his way out of the studio. He couldn't stand to be in there any longer, not when he had opened up such a deep wound. Eventually, he found his way to the living room, spotting the plush bed, and from there, Shine curled up inside it. It was something comfortable. It was something familiar. Or at least, he thought it would've been. That throbbing feeling wouldn't go away, and he was getting restless again, so he buried himself deeper in his bed. If he could've blocked it all out, everything would've been okay. What he didn't expect, however, was Curio coming into the room as well. She joined Shine, kneeling down to his level.

"Hey," she said, "are you, er, are you alright?"

"Yes," he said, his voice slightly muffled. "No. Look, I-I can't right now. I'll join you later."

He covered his face. All it reminded him of was the part of his body that should've been there, but wasn't anymore. He felt like a freak, no, he was a freak. Just a Pokemon speaking when it shouldn't have, acting how it shouldn't have, and looking how it shouldn't have. He was—

"Shine," Curio said, in a deep tone. "If you're gonna sit out, that's fine. But don't beat yourself up when there's no reason for it."

Shine sat up and sniffled, rubbing his eye. "I-I don't know." He breathed in and out, in and out, just like Tony said to do. He was so helpful. Then why did he feel like such a stranger in his own home? Even with all of these luxuries, his bed, the computer, he didn't feel safe there. Thoughts of M still drifted around him, like a sharpened bone club hanging over his head. Over his eye.

He couldn't take this any more. Shine stood and charged towards the front door.

"Where are you going?" Curio yelled.

"Out. I'll, um, I need some fresh air. Tell Tony I'll be back."

"Shine!" she shouted. That got his attention. Curio held both her paw and hand out. "Look, I know what it feels like losing a part of you. No _shit_ , it hurts. Not just on the outside, but deep down as well. So don't feel like you have to face that alone, y'hear?"

Shine didn't move, still looking towards the door. That was the moment Tony entered too, rushing over to the living room with a look of desperation on his face.

"Shine," he said, in the midst of catching his breath. "Please, we can stop, if you want. We can come back to it another day. I honestly don't want you going out there if you're having another episode, at least, not alone. I need to know you're going to be okay."

" _B-but—"_

"Please, tell me." Tony approached him with a stern, but caring expression. "I don't wanna stop you from doing anything; you're a free mon, you can do what you want. Just, take a moment to think and breathe. Why don't you want to stay here?"

" _I-I dunno. Just..."_ Shine sat down on his haunches, scratching his head. _"I don't want to be alone, but not in the same room."_ He rubbed his nose, sniffling. _"When I let out the part about M, about him going berserk…"_ He trailed off and sighed. _"I don't want to go through that again. I've said what I need to say, I don't need to hear Curio's side of it."_

" _I mean, I don't hafta say anythin', we could just skip-"_

" _That's not the point. Tony will want to hear how it all happened, won't you?"_

Reluctantly, Tony nodded, adjusting his glasses. "I just need to understand why M hurt you. I don't want to prolong your suffering, Shine, but I need some closure."

" _I understand that."_

"Okay, so, what can we do to help? What will calm your nerves for the moment?"

Shine straightened his back, looking at them both. They were there for him, so at least it was something to come back to. And if he did head out, where would he have gone at this time of night? All he wanted was to talk it out with someone who wasn't Tony or Curio, at least, for now. Someone who could possibly relate to him, or would want to hear his story. Wait, what about through the forums, or through Diancord? That was a start, and he had a vague idea of who to contact. _"Tony, can I borrow your computer, that is, if you're going to continue? There's something I need to do on there. That will help."_

"Of course. Are you sure you want us to carry on?"

" _Positive."_

"Alright." Tony relaxed his stance, letting his shoulders drop. "Just call us if you need anything."

" _Fine."_ Shine stood up again, heading to Tony, and he nuzzled the side of his leg. _"Thanks for everything."_ He did the same with Curio. "And you too."

"You're welcome."

"Anytime."

And with that, Shine saw them off as they went into the studio, closing the door behind them. He took a deep breath, thinking this over again. His head still hurt with that phantom pain, but he could've dealt with it for now. Hopefully, it wouldn't have prevented him from using the computer. With the desk to his own, Shine sat on the chair and called for the PokeOS to log onto his own profile. Now, to get to the meat of the matter: contacting Barley. If he remembered correctly, he was not only up on the forums, but also on the Diancord server for Pokespeakers as well. He hadn't been on there for a while, but it was worth a try again. With the app booted up, to his surprise, there was one new message from ChildishAudino.

ChildishAudino: Hey! I don't know whether transcription or voice chat works best for you, but whatever you decide, feel free to chase me up here! That's where I'm the most active. Forums have been kind of dead lately anyway.

It had been sent a few days ago, but he was online right now. Despite everything, Shine coaxed a smile, dragging the cursor over to the call button.

* * *

 **(Recording now. Well, I'm sorry to put you through this, Curio.)**

Nah, it's fine. Look, there's something I wanna say before we start. I'm sorry.

 **(For what?)**

Well, for misjudging you, of all people. And for saying all that stuff before. It was uncalled for. Seeing how you handled Shine back there, and you know, just the way you treat him in general, I kind of respect that.

 **(Ah, no need to mention it. I'm always there for Shine.)**

But, here's something I'm wondering. I've been looking at your aura, sue me, and, there's something I sense at the very back of it. You find it difficult sometimes, don't you?

 **(Well, to be honest, I'd rather not get into that right now. Maybe when Shine joins us, we can talk about it. But no matter how I feel, no matter how hard it is, I'll do what I can to help him. Does that reassure you?)**

Yeah, sure. Well, I'm ready now, so fire away.

 **(Alright then. The most pressing issue is how they got M to stop. It's no surprise Shine made it out alive, since, well, he wouldn't be with me if he didn't. But he was in big trouble with that Marowak, so I can imagine everyone had to be pretty quick.)**

We were, and good riddance. That whole situation was pretty freaking surreal.

 **(So, what happened next?)**

It was kind of a blur, but I'll try to remember the best I can. Okay. So, I waited in the cafeteria, just mingling with everyone else as we were done with our fight test for the day. I still waited for Shine, since I wanted to celebrate his success more, but oh well. We were in no big rush and there was nothing else to do. In the meantime, I grabbed a drink from the food counter and idly sipped at it. There was still everyone else there: the teammates and enemies, save for Abraxas, and Basil and Pecha together as well. This time, that Chansey had her first aid kit with her, since she came out from her own focus session. I was curious to find out what it was, since I had never touched base with her on it, so I called her and she immediately had her eyes on me.

"Hello!" Pecha was about to tug on my cheeks again when I tapped her wrist.

"Can you not?" I said. "Anyway, was sort of focus were you doing again? I take it it's got something to do with nursing."

"Oh, I, um—" She wrung her hands together, embarrassed. "Ah, w-would it be weird if I said I hate being lumped in like that?"

I shrugged.

"Ah, well, it's not like what I'm doing is very different, you know, I mean, nursing, doctoring, it's kind of splitting hairs, in a sense. Or would it be splitting furs?"

My ears perked up at the mention of the second focus. "Doctoring?"

"Yes. It's like nursing, except way better, and more complicated." She shook her head, embarrassed again. "No no no, nursing has its role to play in treatment as well, what am I saying? I mean—"

You get the point. She just kept yammering on, and I tuned out, trying to find some sort of opening before I could ask what the deal was. Eventually, she got so frazzled that Basil had to pat her back, wrangling her in.

"It's fine. Take a deep breath."

So she did, and returned to her cheery self. "But yes. I want to be a doctor. Specifically, a paramedic."

"Paramedic?" I cocked my head. "So you parachute in and treat people?"

She let out a hearty laugh; a bit too high pitched for my tastes, but whatever. "No, it means I respond to emergencies. If a Pokemon's seriously hurt, then I'd be the first to treat them before they get sent to a Pokemon centre to heal up. It takes more than a heal pulse or an egg for them to be fine; I need to know how to treat something properly and fast. So the difference is that the nurses deal with care while the doctors and medics deal with more of the life-threatening injuries."

"Like… what?"

"Well, let's say a Pokemon's about to die because they have a bunch of poisonous spikes sticking out of them. What if there's no one else to take care of that? That means a lot I have to learn." She tugged at her head growths. "Kind of makes my brain swim just thinking about what's ahead of me."

"Oh," I said, pointing to her. "Now that makes sense." I hummed to myself, thinking back to all the Chansey I saw in the anime. They were often helping out the Nurse Joys of the world, and I say multiple Nurse Joys, since they must've been clones or something. From what I heard, the Chansey even had their own nursing school in the show. But I never knew them to do stuff on the same level Pecha did. I was about to ask her, but she beat me to it.

"I know our kind's not expected to save people or Pokemon like that. We're still very important, you know, and we should be proud of ourselves." Pecha took the egg out of her pouch and stroked it. "But we can only do so much when we're only assisting nurses. People trust us a lot less than humans, so they usually make the decisions for us. We just carry it out." She put the egg back and patted her belly. "I want to be my own Mon and change that."

I tugged my aura sensors not really knowing what else to say to that. "Well, it sounds like you've got a plan already."

"Oh, yes." She shook her head. "Oh my, I said a lot of depressing stuff there. I didn't mean to be a downer. See!" She tugged at her lips, creasing it into her familiar smile. "Now I'm back!"

I think I got the most out of that conversation. I was curious to know more, but I remembered what I was there for. I was still waiting on Shine to come back up. Using my aura, I floated through the hallways in my mind, trying to find my way to the lower floor. I floated down the staircase, through the hallways with all its pipes, and back into the room where Shine would've been. Except he was running out of it, screaming for help as M chased him with a sharpened piece of bone. Bolt was there as well, bleeding from the head.

My gut told me to run like hell. I jumped out of my seat and sprinted out of the cafeteria, when Pecha caught up to me with her kit in tow. Damn, she was fast.

"What's wrong?!" she shouted.

"I-It's Shine! He's in trouble!"

I didn't say any more and just bolted it through the hallways. Everyone we passed by was stunned as I shoved through them. Considering my spikes, it was a wonder no one got hurt on the way. But we knew where we were going. All we had to do was find the elevator, then zip to the right where the stairs were. But by the time we got there, we found M and Shine on the middle platform.

Ugh, it's hard to talk about this. Just thinking back to what I saw gives me chills.

 **(It's alright. Take your time. Just don't get too graphic.)**

Okay then. Shine screamed as blood ran down his face. M was right above him, holding his shiv out, about to strike. I had to act fast, and act fast I did, as I shot an aura sphere at him, knocking him backwards. In turn, M ran back down the stairs and charged through the door to the lower floor.

It didn't hit me at first, but after that initial rush, the shock settled in. There he was. My sunshine. With an eye missing. Stab wounds in his chest. Choking on his own—

 **(I get the idea, Curio. P-please, no more.)**

Okay, fine. I was getting a bit carried away, but that's what I took in back then. It's important to remember that I hadn't seen that much violence play out in front of me. Of course, Liam would've droned on about all the stuff he went through, that bastard. I also heard stories about the wild from what my other mates from the base told me. Sometimes, Hans would confide in me about what he saw, and others, like Floatsam, just took it in their stride, since they had already accepted the dangers of that world. I may have been sheltered, but I wasn't naive.

Seeing all of that in front of me, though, I didn't know how to react to it at all. What the hell happened? Why did M flip out at Shine in particular? What was going on? Was any of this real? And that smell of iron. I'll never forget that.

Pecha was the first to react, running over to Shine as she dug out some equipment.

"Curio!" she yelled. "Call for help! I need—"

"What's going on?" Azzy walked in, along with a bunch of other staff. When he saw Shine, just like I did, he covered his mouth, whimpering.

"N-no…"

" _Anyone!"_ Pecha shouted. _"I need an assistant!"_

"H-here!" a nurse said, popping out from the crowd.

" _He's bleeding out. I need you to hand me my tools while I stabilise Shine. Then we need to get him to the treatment bay safely. Do you understand?"_

She nodded and went to Pecha's aid. I went to check out Shine on my own, kneeling down to his level as the others treated him. He shivered as blood pooled underneath him. Again, I wasn't sure how to react; I was so completely numb to it. I tried to say something, wanting to reassure him that everything was alright, until—

"Curio." Rhode pulled me back to reality by grabbing my shoulders. "M's still down there, en't he?"

I croaked a response, which sounded sort of like a 'yes'.

"I need to go after 'im before he causes any more trouble, aye? This is our mess; we should deal with it o'erselves. _You lot, can you get his Pokeball too, just to get 'im under wraps?"_

He was going to go down there alone with a murderous beast on the prowl. My aura tutor. Even if we weren't too close, it didn't take much to know that throwing himself into the fray on his own was madness. So hearing that was enough to get me up to speed. Not quite to snap me out of that shocked state, but enough to make me get to my feet.

"W-wait," I said, "I'll help."

"C girl, no. I can't ask you to risk your life 'ere."

"W-what about you?!" I yelled. "If Bolt couldn't deal with it on his own, then neither can you!"

"I've got aura."

"Yeah, and I do too!" I took Rhode's paw, shaking it out of desperation. "C-c'mon, I need to get my own back for what he did to Shine! I'm not letting him get away with it!"

Rhode seemed taken aback with this at first, then he smiled, cupping my paw in his own. "You're ballsy, you know that?"

"Yes, now c'mon!" Before I went, I looked to Pecha, who was trying to staunch the bleeding on the Luxio's wounds. "Shine, is he-"

"He'll be fine," Pecha said. "You have my word."

Once I was reassured, we made our way down the stairs. We didn't have any time to dwell on what happened or why; just laser focused on getting that goddamned Marowak under control. There was a trail of bloody pawprints in the hallway, which we would've followed, except they went into multiple doors. There was no way we could've checked every one of them in case it was a trap. But there was that aura: that unseeable aura. Except this time, it was going completely crazy.

Lots of emotions argued with each other and clashed. Some subtle. Some intense. All of this stuck together and formed a jungle of aura, obscured by mist and tall grass. We were in M's domain at that point. It was too much for me to read all at once, so I pulled away before I could let it get to me. Rhode, however, was on the lookout, sifting through the torrent of thoughts. He waited a moment, then widened his eyes when he found what he was looking for.

"Hold on," he whispered. "I know he senses us. He knows where we are. If we rush in, he'll have the upper hand o'er us."

"Then what?" I whispered back.

"I'll go. Cover me."

I nodded, and slowly, he walked to one of the doors and turned the door handle.

He stepped back as soon as he opened it, as lots of cleaning equipment came crashing down, and M lunged from below. Though Rhode tried to dodge, M slashed, cutting Rhode's leg open. He twisted around in pain as M jumped forward. Shit, he was gonna get him too. What was I supposed to do?

"Lil' _bastard_!" With one well placed kick of his good leg, Rhode punted M across the halls, knocking him to the floor. As soon as he landed, though, M got back up, charging towards Rhode again. I stepped in, throwing an aura sphere at him. He dodged. Then Rhode chipped in, and we sent a flurry of aura spheres together. M flipped back and forth, dodging our every move. Eventually, we ran out of energy, as each sphere shrunk in size. We were no match for his speed.

"M!" I shouted in between breaths. "Please! Stop!"

He didn't listen. He just growled and lunged forward again, this time, aiming that shiv at my belly. Shit. Now I was in for it. The pointy end got so close to skewering me, and yet, I caught it in my paws. Now we were in a power struggle. Neck and neck, with him pushing forward, and me trying to wrench his weapon away from him. Back and forward, back and forward. Yet, I was still tired from overshooting my aura. He got closer and closer, until the tip of his shiv touched my stomach. If he got any closer, that wouldn't have been pleasant.

I considered just ending it there by punching him with the end of my spike. That would've been a decisive blow. But that thought horrified me as much as it did dying. With Rhode's leg injured, he wouldn't have had the strength to fight back. I thought I was gone for.

Yet, by the time M drew a little bit of blood, Rhode had crawled all the way behind him. With one swift movement of his arms, Rhode locked M in a choke hold, lifting him off his feet. M struggled. His legs kicked in the air, and he bit down hard into Rhode's arms, tearing into the flesh. He clenched his teeth, withstanding the pain while trying as hard as he could to keep M in his grasp. It was working, though. M's movements got slower, and he lifted his jaws from Rhode's arm, still squirming to get out. His eyes changed, though. They turned from clear grey to a soulful orange. Then, tears streamed down his face.

"S-sis?" He croaked, no longer struggling. Rhode's grip relaxed, though he still had M in his reach. "What took you so long?"

My mouth hung open. It was clear M changed back again, but to what?

"M-Mama told you not to go alone. Danger in the woods. She'll punish you. Again."

There was a sharp change in his aura. He had let his defences down, letting me peek into it for once. The emotions were still strong, but for once, they radiated joy. Fear and sadness, but also joy. He only had his sister on his mind. But why did he see that in me?

I opened my mouth in an attempt through to him. "I-I—"

"Fine."

Rhode released his grip on him, allowing M to get close to me. I flinched, expecting him to go berserk again, but M only purred, rubbing his head against my paw.

"Fine. Fine. She won't hurt you. I'll protect you. I'll help you. I forgive you."

Out of instinct, I stroked him back, and he growled happily in my embrace. It was strangely comforting. That moment went as soon as it came though. M violently jerked back, on the defensive again. We prepared ourselves for the worst, yet again, except, M didn't do anything. He fell to the floor, flat on his backside, whimpered a few times, and finally, started wailing. He kicked at the floor. He bashed his fists against his head. He looked just like a hatchling crying for his mom, except, well. Maybe not in hindsight.

Neither of us knew what the hell to do. We just stayed in place, not wanting to flee, but not wanting to approach him either. All we could do was wait it out. Finally, M stopped sniffling, after what felt like an eternity, and stood up. He looked at me once. An immense guilt washed over his aura. Then, he reached for the shiv again, while we tried to stop him. I pounced forward, but he dodged, making me hit the floor face first. When I looked up, though, expecting an attack, he had the shiv pointed to himself. I reached my paw out as he screamed, thrusting the bone against his neck, hitting the tip. And that would've been the end of it.

A Pokeball hurtled towards him, turning his whole body into white light, which flashed, then faded as the sphere consumed him. Thankfully, he had been captured, leaving the sharpened bone club on the floor beside him.

Goddamn it all.

* * *

"Shine," Barley said, or at least, his voice said through the microphone on the other end, "I-I never would've known if you hadn't told me."

"I know," Shine said, kneading at the material on the chair. At this point, he didn't have the energy to cry. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be a downer."

"No, no, it's good. It's healthy, y'know. Bottling stuff up just makes it worse."

"But, how do you learn not to do that? For the most part, I just felt guilty for admitting I had problems. I hate being stuck in my trainer's house all day; it just makes me feel worthless."

"Well, however long it takes to heal is fine. And you have a trainer who's willing to look after you, even when stuff is rough. I wouldn't feel bad about that."

"Even if he finds it rough sometimes? I'm not an idiot; I know this stuff is taking a toll on him."

"Yeah, duh. Being a trainer is hard, even when you're not actively battling. My own trainer's gotta put a lot aside for our work, but we have each other to deal with it. But, well, to take a page from the anime, that bond between Pokemon and trainer is precious. It can move mountains, and stuff."

Shine laughed at that, remembering that repeated phrase all too well. "So you watch the show too?"

"Eh, not since that Greninja lost. Can't be bothered; I have better things to do with my time. But I still stick around for the movies."

Shine smiled, feeling a little lighter for their conversation. He didn't know why he didn't do chats on Diancord more often. The servers were still there for him to go on, and since he knew the human tongue, he would've had no problems talking to strangers. That was, except for the fact he was a Luxray who hadn't revealed themselves to everyone else yet. Still, talking with Barley made him forget everything else that was going on.

That was, until Curio stormed out of the room, with Tony following her.

"Er, I'll talk to you later," Shine said, "but I definitely feel better now."

"Any time!" Barley said.

And that was that. Shine ended the call and jumped down from his chair to see what the hubbub was about. He assumed Curio was done re-telling her side of the story. But from the way she jumped on the couch and pawed at her face, it took more of a toll than he was expecting. Tony looked on, trying to hold it together with his hands in his pockets. They were completely still, for a moment, anyway. Shine stood between them.

" _Are you alright, you two?"_ Shine said. He was starting to regret leaving them on their own at that point.

" _Yeah, sure,"_ Curio said, sighing.

"Yes," Tony said, "it was just a bit of a shock, that's all." He looked to his Pokemon next. "How are you holding up? I noticed you called someone."

" _Ah, yes, a new friend I met the other day."_ He wasn't sure if he should've smiled in this situation. _"I've calmed down now."_

"Good to hear." Tony took a deep breath, placing a finger on his temple. "So, what do you guys want to do now? It could be a good time to stop now-"

" _No, we're not stopping."_ She pointed a metal finger at Tony. _"Not when there's so many loose ends right now."_

"But, Curio," Tony said, crossing his arms, "I can tell you're struggling."

" _Yeah, and it'll be fine. But I got a favour to ask. Is there any beer left in the fridge?"_

Shine rose at that question, and Tony himself was taken aback by it.

"E-excuse me?" Tony said.

" _You heard me. I know it's weird, but I just need something to get me through this. A can or a glass or anything."_

" _B-but,"_ Shine said, facing her opposite, _"you can't drink, you're a Pokemon."_

" _I know, and I don't care."_ She balled her metal hand into a fist. _"Look, I'm an adult Lucario without a trainer to hold me back. I can make my own decisions. I'm pretty tolerant to this stuff. I know it ain't normal, and it might make me sick, but I just need it."_

"Again, we could just call it a night if you want," Tony said. "And I'd prefer it if you weren't drunk for it."

" _Yeah, yeah."_ Curio waved her paw at him. _"I know how to pace myself, so I won't get plastered on your account. I just wanna get through this M stuff_ _now. If not, I won't be able to sleep tonight."_ She glanced at Shine. _"Besides, he probably wants to put this behind him for good as well."_

" _I can cope with it,"_ he said.

" _Yeah, okay, but still, I wanna do this for myself."_ She looked back at Tony with a pleading expression. _"Can you do that for me, please?"_

Tony sighed and looked to the kitchen.

"If anyone saw me giving you this, I'd be in huge trouble."

" _Well, yeah, they can go and eat shit. Nobody else is watching."_

"Alright, alright, I get it, just this once." Before he made his way to the kitchen, Tony ruffled Shine's mane. Then, it was just the two of them alone. Shine's headache had subsided a bit since then, so he was in a good enough state to get up and talk. Mentally, though, the M situation still weighed on his mind. So, he joined Curio on the couch and nuzzled her side.

"Are you alright, Curio?"

"Oh come on, Sunshine, I'm fine," she said, wrapping her paw around him. "You're the one with the screwed up eye."

"Point taken. It's just, I know you struggled to talk about that. I forgot how painful that was for you back then."

"Well, what's said is said." She patted his belly. "The worst is almost over now. Well, until, you know."

He grimaced, thinking about what he'd have to talk about later. But that might not be for a while. To his surprise, though, Curio tilted Shine's head around to face her, and she smirked.

"I just thought of something. If it makes you feel any better about you know what, we could give you an eyepatch so you can pretend to be a pirate."

Shine snorted, then let out a gutteral laugh; the loudest he had heard himself do so in a while. "Only if I get to wear a galleon hat."

"Well, I didn't say I had a hat collection for nothin'." She pulled him in for a hug. "But maybe later, once Tony's finished. Except you don't have to join in this time."

He paused, thinking back to how he had reacted earlier. Sure, finding out about M and his struggles was certainly heart-rending at the time, on top of having to deal with the lack of depth perception. When all was said and done though, he had gone through the worst on the M subject already. He hadn't noticed the headache was gone until he was with Curio again.

"I will this time," he said. "Now I remember it, I think it would make me feel better if I saw how you dealt with him through your own eyes. While he was still in rehab before he got sent off."

"Ah, yeah, well that was the part I was dreading myself." She tightened her grip around Shine, surprising him. "God, that just, ugh." Thankfully, she relaxed it, giving Shine some space. "But I think Tony will be glad to have you listenin' in this time. Speak of the devil..."

She pulled herself away as Tony walked in with two bottles in tow. As soon he was in Curio's reach, she tried to grab both of the bottles when he snatched them back.

"Ah, no, you're only getting one."

" _Cheapskate."_

When Tony handed her the other one, she twisted off the cap with her teeth, then took a swig.

" _Ah, this is the good stuff."_ She cocked her head. _"Then who's the other one for?"_

Tony pried the cap off with a bottle opener and took a swig of his own. "After hearing that, I needed something as well."

" _Well, hold onto that beer."_ She pointed the glass at him. _"You'll need it for what I'm about to say later."_

"In that case—" he held the bottle to hers— "let's drink to the memories we'd rather forget."

She glared at him, before finally shrugging and clinking the bottom of the glass against his. _"To memories we'd rather forget."_


	36. Slipping Off The (M)ask

**(With M successfully captured, what happened afterwards?)**

What do you think? I really don't want to harp on about it any more than I have already. Bolt was found back in the detention room, knocked out, but safe in the sick bay. Shine was being treated as well, though he was being healed up in a Pokeball until they were ready to get him up to speed. Sadly, I wasn't allowed to see him, so it wasn't exactly a comfort. Pecha was there after the initial incident though, staying in that same room the whole time until she had another lesson. Basil accompanied her as well, so they both sat on the floor together. I approached them, wanting to say something to Pecha in particular.

"Hey," Basil said, eyes drooping. "I'm so sorry, Curio."

"What for?" I said. After pondering it for a while, Basil shrugged and smiled sadly.

"Don't know. Just, I'm not sure what to say about all of this."

I didn't know how to take that and just turned to Pecha. "Thanks a ton. Sorry everything kind of went so fast."

She shook her head and smiled, looking happy unlike Basil. "Glad to help. That's what our kind's for, isn't it?"

"But seriously, it's like you knew what to do just like that."

"Y-yes." She laughed nervously, tugging at her nubs again. "That was my first time. Scary, huh, Bas?"

"Yeah, Pec." Basil hugged her, and in turn, Pecha gave him a peck on his pink cheek. I guess it was reassuring to see those two like that, though that sort of connection was missing for me.

That relief didn't last long. GeL didn't have the same atmosphere as it did before, at least not for the first couple of days.

The odd thing was that the students had no reaction to it. They didn't seem to know that the M incident happened, or what happened to Shine either. So that was a little puzzling.

However, the staff was a lot more anxious, and my aura was heightened during that time. The Pokemon mediators in particular were quite shaken up. Bolt, of course, wasn't the same either. He recovered relatively quickly, but I rarely saw him. When I did though, he looked completely shattered. His aura reflected that too. Even though there was a bit of baggage between us, I didn't want to nag him at that point. Maybe at another time when the dust had settled.

This reflected in my own lessons as well. I paid much less attention to what was being said by the teachers. I didn't even have the energy to continue the assignment for the vase making lesson. There was a tense air between all of us, even my other classmates, as they all knew about M's outburst. Hans didn't feel like making jokes in class any more. That smug shithead Ab didn't even talk, which was a first. So yeah, in general, we were all a bit fed up.

That all culminated on the third day that changed everything. It was Azzy's turn to teach us that day, and we were enjoying his classes. Once we had gotten a handle on his language exams and could properly improve our conversational skills, we felt pretty confident in our abilities to speak the human tongue. Having human students to interact with this time, now we fully understood them, made it better. This one would've been a simple prep lesson, and despite everything, we were looking forward to this one.

Key word being 'were'. As soon as Azzy walked in, slamming the door behind him, the atmosphere in the room changed. He scowled at the chalkboard in front of him, then turned to a blank space where M usually would've sat. That Marowak liked the pink beanbag for whatever reason, but that was absent from the room. Finally, he crushed a chunk of chalk in his paw, letting the white dust fall to the floor. His expression softened, then he sighed.

" _I quit,"_ Azzy said. There was a long pause in the room, broken by whispers from my side and from the humans as well. " _If you can get a replacement for this one lesson, then that would be much appreciated. You'll find the papers on the desk."_ He turned to the door, clenching his paw, then finally left.

Okay, I didn't know what the hell happened there. None of us did. We were too shocked to say anything else. The human students started discussing on their own, debating who should've been the substitute teacher for this, but that wasn't even on my mind then and there. It was still on that blue rabbit.

He was the one that sent me here, and he was quitting. Where would he go? It shouldn't have gotten to me so much since we weren't even blood related, but he was my tutor too, and my heart ached for that all the same. Again, I was losing someone that helped shape my childhood, and not only that, someone who was with my family before they moved away from the island. Right, the island. They left it behind to survive, yet before that, they were still in contact. What happened? Why didn't he do anything? Wait, he did. He wouldn't have cried if it wasn't for that.

One of the humans stood up, sifting through the notes Azzy left behind. It seemed like he was about to pick up from where the teacher left off, but that could've waited. I needed answers, and fast. I rushed out of there, not even bothering to check with the other student as I power walked through the halls. Heh. Maybe the others thought they could've given him the slip with one student already leaving. But I wouldn't have found Azzy by going in blindly. So, I stopped and tuned into my aura, expecting to see him in the office, but as it turned out, he was in the battle room. It was completely unoccupied by anyone else, so that was the perfect place to ask him. I didn't waste any time.

Droplets of water sprayed my face as I entered. Azzy yelped as he shot another water jet at a wall. He shot a few more from his mouth, then, finished with a Hydro Pump, unleashing a torrent at the edge of the arena that splashed everywhere, forming a large puddle at his feet. After that, he stopped to catch his breath, blowing out huge gasps of air. I just stood there, trying to figure out what to say to get him out of that state. The only thing his aura said was a constant string of thoughts that screamed **DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT.** So that made me step in for real. Screw waiting around patiently.

"Teach," I said. That didn't get much of a reaction out of him. "Hey, teach!" I raised my voice, trying to get his attention that time. He still didn't turn, but he grimaced then. That was something, at least.

"C-Curio," he said. "You should be back in class."

"What's goin' on?" I approached, stepping into the cool water. Even though I was a bit taller than him, he still had that commanding air about him. I waited that time, letting him get it out at his own pace. He didn't answer. So, I pressed again. "Why're you quitting?"

He sighed. "I-I just can't stay here. Not what after happened to Shine and M. I just wanted to teach, not get wrapped up in this. After everything that's been going on, I don't know if—" he cut himself off and cleared his throat, sloshing through the water with his paw. "GeL's heart is in the right place. I know, but they screwed up here. This wasn't ethical."

I thought it was Bolt who was mostly responsible, but with what they said about M not belonging here, I couldn't brush that aside either. If I was taken somewhere I wasn't supposed to be, then I would've been pretty confused too. But I came here of my own free will. They offered me the choice. They couldn't have been that bad. I wanted to check his aura just to make sure. **Not here, not now, have to keep it inside.**

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to talk to my partner Mack. Didn't mean to get you all soaked."

Azzy stepped out of the puddle, leaving wet pawprints in his tracks. Yet, I stayed. "Teach, stop. There's somethin' else, isn't there?"

He took a few deep breaths, in and out, in and out. **She doesn't need to know.** "Nothing."

"Don't lie to me!" I stomped a paw, splashing a bit of water nearby. "She doesn't need to know, what the _hell_ does that mean?! Tell me!"

"W-what?" He held a paw to his mouth. "Was I really—?"

"Too late." I stomped on over to him, peering above him. "Teach, I hate seeing you like this. Tell me now."

His lip quivered for a little bit, then firmed up. He sniffed once, then fell to his knees, holding back tears.

"They lied to you."

"Lie—"

"Yes!" he shouted, tugging at his long ears. "Back then, what I've been meaning to say all this time—" he shook his head— "they could've done something about your family!"

I said nothing and let him continue.

"They could've done anything! They knew winter would've struck, so they could've stepped in! Given their phone number for them to call! Your family's smart, they could've called that themselves if they moved into the city! We had the means of transport as well! We could've taken them to you, to visit or to live with you! I'm sure they would've loved that, but-but—"

He grit his teeth and punched the floor, the force of which echoed in that big hall. That made me jump. Then, after that, silence. That threw me for a loop. It was like, what? What the hell? I tried to convince myself he heard differently, that he was wrong about that. Yet my hopes were dashed with this:

"They said, 'oh, we shouldn't meddle', but look what happened to M! What in god's name was he doing here?! If they got involved there, why didn't they do the same for you? Why'd they put you through that much stress? I just, I just— I-I do understand, but—" he scratched his head. " _Dammit all!"_

Now would've been a good time to say what the hell. Or what the shit, even. What. The. Shit.

 **(Wait, so they did lie about that?)**

No duh, genius. Look, I don't wanna dwell on this that much. Whatever I think of 'em for doing that now doesn't matter. Let's put that aside and just focus on how I felt back then.

This wasn't happening. Again, it was nothing to do with them dying or anything too catastrophic. That's what I tried to tell myself. Then, why the hell was my chest so tight? My throat so dry? My paws shaking so much? My heart didn't lie. So, then what? Just tell them what I found out? What would happen if I did? Would they threaten me? Was this the point where they'd drop the facade? I didn't want that. I had my safe zone, the place where I got to chat with my classmates and sculpt stuff. Right, sculpt stuff. I needed something, anything to take my mind off things. I walked on my own, almost like sleepwalking, oblivious to what Azzy said. I think he was trying to get me back, and even heard him follow after me. I didn't see anything. It was a bit of a blur, the walk from the arena to the workshop.

There were all those tools they bought. All the clay they ordered. And in the middle of it all was my attempted recreation of Ellie's vase. It was jagged, but at least it resembled something of that shape. Azzy tugged my paw.

"Curio…" He said nothing else. I didn't either. After a short moment, he bolted out of the room, leaving in a panic. I didn't care. I stared at the hardened lump of clay. Or rather, stone, since the clay was cast into a different form. I made that. GeL allowed me to make that. They valued my freedom and let me explore what I probably never would've out there. I didn't feel like it was right for me though. All the work building up to it and I didn't find it expressive at all. I couldn't communicate what I could've done on a sketchbook like before. That was what they expected of me though, to be a Pokemon with skills other than battling. Could I even live up to that if what I was making was crap I didn't care about?

Dammit, I'm rambling. Sorry, I need another swig.

 **(That's fine.)**

Okay then, back to earlier. Why was I thinking about that? No, I was trying to distract myself from what Azzy said, anything to try and make sense of what he told me. They cut me off from my family. The staff. That meant that Gardevoir. That meant that human director. And that meant Rhode, my other tutor. I could've trusted him before, and yet, he must've known about my family. Why would they stop me from being with them? Even though it wasn't exactly happy back there, I was still with them. They took that away from me.

They took it all.

I wasn't the same Pokemon as I was when I left the island. Everything I had back there was gone, and with Azzy going as well, it was all crumbling before me. Something built up inside me, though I wasn't sure what it was, like complete darkness oozing through my veins. My paws shook violently then. I wanted to smash something.

That's when she entered: that Gardevoir Lucy. She stood by the doorframe, eyes widened. She was there. She was the cause of all of this. M snapping. Shine getting mistreated. Me getting torn apart from my family. I just stared at her, holding my spiked paws behind my back. If I didn't stop myself, I was sure I was going to snap too.

"Curio, Azzy sai—"

"Shut up." I knew I was gonna get in trouble for that, but I was so totally done at that point. "Yeah, Azzy told me. He knew my family had to move away somehow. Yet you did nothing." I took a deep breath, tightening my fists. "So, you were lyin' to me all this time?"

Lucy bit her lip, tugging at one of the seams on her dress. She kept her eyes on me, but I sensed she wanted to look away. "I-I'm sorry."

"Sorry? You're sorry, huh?" Then, snap. I grabbed the vase and threw it at the wall, shattering into pieces. That crashing sound filled the room. "Sorry ain't enough! I still coulda been with my family if it wasn't for you! You think I'm gonna forgive you after that?!"

"No, I-I understand, but—"

"What about my friend Shine, huh? You coulda done something about M, but you let him get away with it til the end! You think I wanna stay here after all this? No!" I rushed to the door as Lucy stood still, blocking the exit. She was calm and collected once more.

"Get out of the way," I said.

"Curio, please, listen to—"

"Get out!" I threw a punch at her, which she dodged, levitating to the side. It was unblocked now. There was nothing stopping me. I ran through the halls, ignoring everyone else. Something whooshed behind me.

"Please, hear me out, please—"

I ran faster, heading for the stairwell. One by one, I ascended each floor. Second. First. Ground floor. I stopped to catch my breath, listening out for what was below me. Footsteps echoed beneath. Crap, I had to run, not even thinking about who it was. I reached for the doorknob, pressing it down with all my force. It wouldn't budge.

Footsteps were getting louder. No, this wasn't happening, why couldn't I get out? I spotted something like a card reader on the left and recognised it from all the shows I watched. I was locked in. But I had to get out anyway. So I pounded at the door with my metal fists. It still wouldn't budge, and the door itself was pure metal.

Louder and louder still. There had to be a way to warp it, right? Find some chink in the armour that would lead to my escape, right? Wait, what about aura? Was there any way to create a blast, or anything, that could force it open? I placed my paws on the hinge and focused, channelling all of my energy into that.

"Hey, lass."

Rhode snapped me out of my deep focus, but with the aura still coursing through me, I turned to him, aiming a charged paw at his head. There was plenty I could've said then. I could've shouted at him, I could've swore at him, I could've said anything to express how bad the whole thing felt. Yet, I couldn't even bring myself to do that right away, but I still had to be on my best guard. He was the teacher, if I could've even called him that any more, who had the upper hand here. And he was in front of the stairs too, blocking my way back. Any inch I gave him would've meant the end for me.

"Stay away."

"Okay, okay." He held his paws up, relenting. That still wasn't enough to convince me. "Listen, Curio, we need to talk. Just you and me."

"Not in the mood. Get me out."

"Please…" His eyes were wide, practically begging at that point. "Look, lass, we're sorry. We really are. And I know the pain yer goin' through."

"Then why?!" That got me to shout at last as I bashed my other paw against the metal frame. "You must'a known they weren't gonna call my family anymore. B-but, you're a Lucario too! Why didn't you stop them?!"

"I—" He clenched his teeth. It didn't take someone with aura to know he was struggling too. "We—" he sighed— "it wasn't an easy choice. We tried. Anythin'. We argued about it for days on end. We know it would've been tricky for you if something had 'appened."

"B-but, you chose, didn't you? You went along with it anyway!"

"Y-yeh, but—"

"SHUT UP!" I was full-on fuming at that point. "I-I can't trust you! Can't, can't breathe... Just let me out!"

"Curio…" He stepped forward, outstretching his arms. That was it. I blasted my aura at his belly, and this time, it was a big one. All of my stored energy burst in front of us, knocking me back to the wall, and knocking him elsewhere. My head spun for a bit. Not exactly what I expected to happened, not that I cared. When I came to my senses, though, Rhode was struggling to pick himself up, having been blasted down a flight of stairs. He spat once, then stood up and ran.

Round two. I tried to charge a sphere again, but this time, he succeeded, grabbing me gently. I have to stress the gently part. But in my state, I couldn't tell the difference between that and him overpowering me, so I thrashed about, desperate for him to stop. He just held me tighter. At that point, I was just bashing my fists against him, not caring where I hit, just how I hit.

"H-hey, calm dow—"

Shk. My spike planted itself into something rough, like a pair of scissors poking through a sheet of card. He groaned. It smelled of iron. I looked down. It was in Rhode's side.

The spike was in his side. Not deep enough to create a huge hole in him, but it had pierced through the t-shirt and his skin, drawing blood as it spread across the fabric. Quite a bit of it. When I drew it back in shock, some of it spurted out.

What emotion was I going through at the time? I don't know. I was too caught up in everything else to soak it in at first. But what would Rhode, my tutor, do next? Fight back? Kill me? He could've retaliated and that would've been the end of it. I probably had it coming too. But no.

He pulled me in closer and hugged me. You know, wrapping his arms around me, softly patting my back. He whispered: "Alright, alright, lass." Several times, in fact, like a lullaby. I breathed in and out, in and out, trying to hold it together. No, I couldn't have given myself up to him. But that hug; it had been so long since I felt it from my own kind. That was what broke me in the end.

I fell to my knees, sobbing, while he joined me with tears of his own. There were lots of explanations that were long overdue. No chance of letting all of that slide by and just pretending it never happened. But then, what were GeL doing? Why would they even care about me at all if they wanted to put me through this trouble? That still went unanswered as well. It was terrifying, to be honest. There were the cause of all of it. Yet Rhode was still there for me.

"I-I'm sorry…" I cooed. "Sorry. Sorry. Sorry."

"Nah, don't worry. En't a significant wound." There was no ill-will in his voice at all. It would've been a comfort if that guilt still didn't linger on.

More footsteps came. Softer, this time, with what sounded like two pairs coming up. I didn't even care if they took me away at that point; I was that mentally exhausted. I glanced away from my tutor to see Henry, Reggie and Lucy, the Machamp, Medicham and Gardevoir, in front of us. They looked just as apologetic as Rhode did.

"H-hey, listen," Rhode croaked as he turned around, "don't get her into trouble, 'ere. She's overwhelmed enough as it is."

Lucy covered her mouth, clearly surprised by the wound in his stomach. "R-Reggie? Can you take—"

"No need." Rhode waved his paw. "We can do that later. Just get some bandages for now, or anything. I'll be fine."

Reggie sighed. "Alright, mon. Don't get hurt no more, y'hear?"

While he went off on his own, Henry and Lucy lowered themselves, letting Rhode fall back in their arms. They both glanced at me, still maintaining their soft composure. Lucy started first, about to say something, but stopping herself at the last minute. She took another look at me, and I sniffled, rubbing the tears away.

"I'll be straight with you," she said, "I won't try to force you into anything, Curio. If you don't find GeL's the place for you any more and want to leave, that's fine. We'll do everything we can to try and find somewhere more fitting."

"B-but, I don't get it!" I yelled, not even out of anger any more. "I, you, you don't seem bad, but, but…"

Lucy took a deep breath, rubbing her temple. "Anyone's capable of making terrible decisions, good or bad, including us." She touched the red growth on her chest next. "Taking responsibility for that and making sure we fix it is what matters next."

I just stared at her. So she admitted it, but that didn't make it any better.

"But in any case, if you wish to leave GeL, the option is there. Isn't that right, you two?"

"Yeah," Rhode said, holding his wound, "no point in makin' you suffer 'ere."

"Mmm hmm," Henry said, "same goes for everyone else here."

I sniffled again and took a deep breath, weighing my options. Yes, I would've left if it wasn't for that door, but I had calmed down since then. What did I want? I felt betrayed and needed answers, fast, otherwise it would just be back to square one again.

"We can tell you if you wanna know," Rhode said. "I bet we owe ya a few things, 'specially what our deal is."

"Yes!" I said, ignoring the fact he just read my mind. "I wanna know everything!"

"Then," Lucy said, "we'll let you talk to Cartwright. You know, the director here?"

From what little humour I found in this situation, I couldn't help but stick my tongue out. "Duh."

"Okay," she said with a smirk, "but now you've matured a little and have improved your human speech, I feel you're ready. Again, if you want to back out, then just say the word and we'll stop it. However, we would at least like you to lend an ear and let us explain. How does that sound?"

She extended her leafy hand, which I stared at for a while. They were being civil, at least, though a pawshake still wouldn't have resolved things. I stood up, but decided not to shake it.

* * *

Before we made our way there, Reggie applied the bandages to Rhode as promised, and he seemed back to speed, even if it didn't look fully patched up. There was a slight shade of red staining the white gauze. I couldn't stop staring at the wound and my own paw, which still had blood on it.

"H-hey, teach," I said. "Still sorry about, er, about… you know what."

"Don't stress your wee head about it," he said with a chuckle. "Think of it as my own punishment. Just be more careful from now on, won't you?"

I slowly nodded in reply.

"I'll clean that up, yeah?" Reggie said, pointing to my bloodied paw with some wipes. That was taken care of, at least. The rest from there, well, I went downstairs with the rest of the group, silently taking it all in. The first floor, then the second floor, then through the door that led to the research department. At least, that's what they called it upon entering. All it really led to was another corridor with a few rooms. Unlike the downstairs parts, which had all sorts of flowery and colourful designs, this one was pretty much pure white walls, with lots of notice boards and papers pinned onto them Very riveting. But that's not what I focused on; I honed my aura in on the people inside of it. Now, I can only really guess what the other people there were doing, since I only saw their activities from the outside.

The researchers were hunched over their desks, typing away on the computers, talking to each other, and otherwise, goofing off. One threw a paper plane across the room. Another one was petting their own Pokemon: an unremarkable Eevee, because of course, they were popular. While I heard something about this upper level during my studies at some point, it was the first time seeing it in person. Though I was about to ask why they brought other Pokemon with them that weren't a part of GeL, that thought didn't linger on as Lucy pointed me to the very end of the corridor: a wooden door leading to what I detected was Cartwright's room.

I stopped walking as my heart skipped a beat. Yeah, this sounds silly. I met the guy before, right? Yet, I'd never actually talked to him before, and since I didn't know what his intentions were, that made it all the more nerve-racking when I was finally given the choice.

"Hey," Rhode said, tapping my shoulder. He looked to the side first, scratching his chin, then turned back. "Whatever choices we made, we all 'ad to run through him first. I dun't want to say anythin' against him, but if ya must… If you need to talk to 'im about your family-"

"I get it," I said. We left it at that, since we'd soon find out what to make of this all later. So, we stepped through the corridors, with my heart beating all the way through. No, I had to be real with myself. I wasn't in danger. Or at least, I thought I wasn't. Then why weren't they attacking now? Still, I had to block out those other thoughts, or else I wouldn't have found out anything. Lucy hovered in front and opened the door, letting us all in one by one. Rhode. Reggie. Henry. And finally, me.

Well, I didn't know what I expected a chairman's office, from what I saw of the wider world in those shows. Maybe something extravagant, like a study with polished wooden bookcases, lush furniture, regal colours and all that. Maybe the head honcho in the middle was petting a Persian like in that show, surrounded by all sorts of luxuries. But nope, the rest of it pretty much looked like a manager's office, though there were plaques on the walls with certain awards. One read 'Excellence in Pharmacology'. There were also pictures of a younger him with the staffed Pokemon in their previous forms, even down to a Riolu wearing a top that was clearly oversized. But anyway, that's not the point. The man himself stood out the most. His grey, balding hair. His wrinkles that made his face look like a raisin. The rest of his rather frail frame. Once we all entered the room, closing the door behind us, the director looked up from the paperwork and a smile spread across his dry lips.

"Why hello, Curio," he said, shakily raised his hand up. "It's nice to be able to chat together at last."

I said nothing, still forming my own opinions of the guy. So he was the director behind this project, along with the four main staff members, from what I gathered. Then, what was his connection with them? Well, Cartwright noticed Rhode's wound not long after and frowned.

"Reggie told me you had an accident," he said.

" _Yeh."_ Rhode rubbed his head. " _En't nothin', Wrighty."_

"Well, please take care of yourself, my boy." A slight chuckle escaped his lips. "Wouldn't want you to bite the dust after coming all this way, now would we?"

" _Shaddup, yeh old stinker."_ Rhode returned a chuckle of his own, and everyone else smiled. Something about the way they talked, well, I put two and two together and applied it to the rest. That was the first time I stepped up, standing alongside the rest as we were on the other end of his desk.

" _Are you…"_ I struggled to find the right words for it at first, then just went with my gut. " _Are you all his Pokemon?"_

" _Uh huh,"_ Henry said, crossing both pairs of arms. " _Not that it changes who we are that much."_

" _We all came from many different backgrounds throughout Wright's life,"_ Lucy said, " _but here we are together._ "

" _Sorry, I'm not—"_ I didn't want to say I didn't care, but I had to get my raw thoughts out of the way now I had the power to talk about it. I stepped forward, going to Cartwright, face to face. " _I feel let down, mister, er, what to call you?"_

"Wright is fine; no need to be so formal." He sighed, rubbing his pruned hands. "And yes, I imagine you would have a bone to pick with me. Or a few bones."

That didn't make anything better or worse. " _So, you knew? About my family? About M? About Shine?"_

"Well, yes and no." He tented his fingers. "Of what we did know, we had to make extremely difficult choices. Of what we didn't, well…" He frowned. "I regret not solving the problem sooner. I have nothing but sympathy for Shine and M. But I don't want to make excuses, that wouldn't be fair to you or the rest of my team here." He straightened his back and returned to a confident gaze. "If there's anything you want to know, we'll try to answer the best we can here. I just ask that you take a seat there."

So he didn't want to fight and seemed to be open about the whole thing. Well, fight as in, you know, argue. I wouldn't have just beaten up an old geezer like that. The couch looked comfy, at least. So, I sat down, a bit further away from the director, but still in spitting distance. For lack of anything better to do, I made myself comfortable.

" _Cup of tea, Curio? Wright?"_ Lucy asked, looking to the portable kettle. I just nodded in reply.

"Yes please," Wright said. So, the stage was set. The rest of the staff sat beside me, save for Lucy, who floated beside her master. Something about this seemed weird; a bit too relaxed, to be honest. I sipped the hot Pecha tea, which soothed my hoarse throat.

"What's on your mind first?" he asked. I took a deep breath, sifting through all the problems at the moment and breaking them down to the most pressing issues.

" _Why… my family?"_ The words burned like hot coals on my tongue. " _You… knew what they meant to me. They got me here. I was happy, calling them. You didn't let them see me. You didn't help them. Why?"_

Cartwright took a sip of his own mug and sighed. "Again, that was a tough decision all of us made. None of us truly wanted to drive you away from them, but, well, let me explain. Do you recall what Azzy most likely told your family, that we can't give away their location, but can visit theirs?"

" _Yeah, kinda."_

"Well, that was the biggest reason why we didn't chase them up." Another sigh. "Every person here, including us, is barred from revealing GeL to the public. We had to hide our tracks to get Azzy to your family in the first place. We made sure any calls coming in would be untraceable, and come from our own network, instead of an outside source. That was why we couldn't give them our phone numbers, so they wouldn't call from something that could be monitored."

" _Meaning? I don't understand a few words, or network stuff."_

"Alright, I apologise. To put it simply, every phone call made gets heard by Sinnoh's government, or the people that look after this region, because of a rule. We had to make our own program, so we could hide any information we talk about over the phone without being heard."

" _Like the programs P.Z. talks about?"_

" _Yeah,"_ Henry said with a yawn, " _well, I told him, since he's dealin' with computers and such."_

" _W-wait—"_ I put the mug down on the floor— " _how much does everyone else know?"_

" _Well, the human students and researchers all know,"_ Lucy said, " _and we told all of the domestic Pokemon about it since they would've learnt enough about the world beforehand."_

" _You left me and my family out then."_ I held my paws together, growing more on-edge by the minute.

" _Not quite. We discussed this with your family over our phone network, and they knew the risks involved."_

" _What risks?!"_ I stood up, bashing my paws on Wright's table. " _That doesn't make sense! This place is a school, ain't it? What's there to hide if you aren't doing something bad?"_

"That's what I've been asking for many years." Cartwright wrung his hands over his face, rubbing that soft skin of his. "I tried to make a difference out there. I wanted people to realise there was more to sticking Pokemon in the wild or pairing them with trainers for the rest of their life. And they made enemies out of me." Yet another sigh. "This world is full of idiots."

I quietly sat back down, letting it digest. Now, that brought about even more questions, more than I was hoping for. My head hurt; I just hoped we'd get this over and done with soon.

" _What idiots?"_

Cartwright sighed, leafing through some of the documents on his desk. "I wouldn't want to bore you with too many details, but you've learnt enough in class to know why the trainer system was put into effect. To control Pokemon and stop them from going berserk with their powers. They didn't have the intelligence back then, unlike you all. They were considered little more than animals."

That, we learnt bits and pieces about too. I don't think it needs explaining.

"Then, things changed. You Pokemon changed along with the humans. The museum you visited not too long ago is proof enough of that, if you remember."

I nodded.

"Why Pokemon are adapting so fast, we don't know. It's still a known unknown. But despite this change in recent years, with evidence to prove it, it still isn't common knowledge. And one root cause of that is those idiots here."

Finally, he tossed a newspaper clipping to my side of the table, with the headline: 'Trainer Foundation, 200 Years Strong.' The picture featured a bunch of suits lined up in a meeting hall, looking very important. The director pointed to the figure in the middle: a bearded man who looked just as old as Cartwright was, except with more hair, and waved his hand at the camera, smiling.

"This is Heathcliffe Brooks, Prime Minister of Sinnoh, and one that controls all efforts towards trainer relief, facilities, gyms, and funding the current programme responsible for this generation of trainers. His family has done the same for many generations."

" _Feh,"_ Rhode said, picking his ears, " _is this gonna be another one of your rants about him?"_

"I will curb my tongue for now, though I do have select words for him."

" _Uh..."_ I found this a lot to take in, though again, I had a vague idea of what those suits were supposed to be doing to run the country. " _What's so bad about him? I mean, he cares about trainers… and stuff."_

"Don't be mistaken; the trainer system on its own isn't bad. With the right tools, it can help certain Pokemon reach that potential as well. But there needs to be a middle ground. No matter what the man's motives are, he's one of the reasons why this region hasn't progressed." He smacked his palm on the spot where Heathcliffe's frame was. "He's run campaigns to shut down the opposition: the Pokemon Coalition. They're the ones that try to improve the welfare of Pokemon. The media's under his thumb in Sinnoh, and that extends to other regions: Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, all part of the same package. Anyone that tries to prove that Pokemon are different to what his reality of the trainer system is like, he twists the narrative around and makes up his own version of the events." To make a point of this, he scrunched up the newspaper in his hands, crumpling it into a ball. "And he has the support to back it up, mostly from the old blood of the trainer system descended from generations of forefathers."

" _He'd ruin us,"_ Rhode snarled, gritting his teeth. " _He'd shut us down and destroy our research."_

"Yes." Wright turned his hand upside down and let the ball of paper fall onto the desk. "And that ruthlessness is why he's won every election in his reign thus far."

To be honest, a lot of this was going over my head. Some of it still does. Still, I got the gist of what he was saying, so the root of it all came back to why he opened up GeL to begin with.

" _Is this all you want? To teach us?"_

"Yes, that's all I wanted." Wright took another sip before continuing. "The government, not just in Sinnoh, but worldwide, forbids any unauthorized educational institute to be run. Because this is a school for you Pokemon, this doesn't fall within their ruleset. They wouldn't pay for us to run it since they consider it a waste of time and resources, so we had to finance it ourselves and keep it unregistered, which breaks the law. Therefore, we can't reveal anything that goes on here, else they'll stop us."

" _Even though we're smart enough to learn stuff like that?"_

"Exactly."

" _Well, that sucks."_ I held my chin in my paws. " _...and what would happen to us Pokemon if we got caught?"_

"Nothing, I'd make sure of that." Wright uncrumpled the newspaper and peered at the photo with a wistfulness to his eyes. "For everything he's done, Heathcliffe is not evil. He wouldn't harm anyone, at least, not physically."

" _How do you know?"_

"I just do. I know… him." He took a deep breath before putting the newspaper back on his pile. "But that's for another time." A warm smile spread across his features. "No matter what, I will fight for your right to learn and your safety to the bitter end. Even if what we're doing is against the law, you Pokemon deserve a chance to thrive here."

" _But Shine and M and—"_

"We're still finding out about those two. But if it will put your worries to rest, we're firing Bolt, and sending him off with M, who will be put in a better place for his kind. There are wild rehabilitation centres with rangers and trainers who are more qualified for dealing with him. As for our mistake, all we wanted was to give him the same chances as everyone else." He grumbled. "We either didn't try hard enough or realised too late that this wouldn't help him. He—"

" _Alright, alright, time out."_ I grabbed the mug and took a swig of the lukewarm tea. Bleh. I put it to the side, never to drink it again, but that calmed my nerves at least. I held my head in my paws; I needed to go through everything I found out, or else lose my mind. I wasn't even that crazy about the M stuff at this point; he just seemed to snap, and Shine was in the wrong place at the wrong time. So that, I could deal with later, but I couldn't have let the other parts slide.

So, GeL, Gestalt Learning, had to hide themselves away, and because of that, they couldn't have kept in contact with my family after they left. My own blood knew this, apparently, though that was news to me. Why didn't they say anything at the time, to me or on the tape? It all seemed to be for a good reason, but then, why was Azzy so mad? How much did everyone else know? And how did they hide themselves anyway, if it was apparently so secret?

" _Don't you think we should take Curio to security, aye?"_ Rhode said, standing up and stretching his arms. " _She can see what we're talkin' about, then."_

"Absolutely." Wright reached out for his cane and slowly got to his feet. "Would you mind, Curio?"

" _Again, if it's too much, just say the word,"_ Lucy said.

" _N-nah. I'm fine. J-just confused, is all. I'll go._ "

"Alright, thank you. Now, I'm afraid I'm a slow walker." Wright hummed to himself. "Unless, Henry…"

" _Say no more, mate."_ Okay, so Henry picked him up, balancing him on all four arms like he had formed a seat, and headed for the door. That happened. Aside from everything else that was going on at the time, I wasn't expecting a Machamp to just pick him up like he was carrying a box or something, but there we had it. I can't say the trip to the security room was much to write home about, though seeing Henry carrying the director up the staircase was fun. It brought us to yet another corridor, but the other rooms were apparently for computer suites, offices for the maintenance staff, and such. The control room itself was also filled with computers, except it had a big wall of monitors in the middle, and two chairs where another human sat. Henry put his boss down and joined the human, who fist-bumped him.

" _Found anythin' since I left?"_ Henry asked, while the other human scratched his head.

"Aside from a few wild Geodude, nada. Same crap, different day."

"That doesn't make your jobs any less important, you two." Wright pointed at them with his cane. "Now, do you mind pointing this young lady to the cameras so she can see what's going on?"

" _Y-young lady?"_ I whispered, a bit confused. I don't think anyone had ever called me that before, up until that point. Not that I knew what a young lady would be in Pokemon years, but we're getting off track. I did what they said and looked at the dang monitors. Well, I didn't right away, since I peeked at Henry's desk. He had a laptop of his own, some spare computer parts scattered about the surface, as well as a stack of wrestling DVDs and a Hawlucha mask. Huh, so that must've been what Bran was talking about. But they certainly gave their staff a lot of freedom, or at least something to do.

" _Take a look, then,"_ Henry prodded. So I focused on the task at hand and looked to where he was pointing to. There seemed to be nothing but rocky terrain, at first, with a dull orange tinting the screen. Once I took a good look at it, though, I saw a small building, like a hallway, camouflaged by its surroundings. I thought the facility was supposed to be massive, but then, what was this doing here?

" _That's only the entrance. The rest is underground, y'see?"_

All I could say to that was 'huh'. Then he clicked a few more times, panning the camera to a few other spots of the facility. There was a stack of chimneys, which he explained was coming from the kitchen and the boiler. Then there was a set of windows, circling around something.

" _And that's what leads into the arena."_

" _Really?"_

" _Yeah, really."_ Henry swivelled around, smirking at his trainer. " _What did we build this facility from again?"_

"An old Pokeball factory. Everything was cleaned out by the time we found it, however. It—"

" _Okay, I get it,"_ I said. I didn't really need convincing from there. Well, I kind of did. The fact they hid that stuff from me was still a red flag. But from there, I only had one burning question, all of which pinned everything together. I looked Wright straight in his sunken eyes and took a deep breath. " _What are you planning with all of this? I know you want to teach us Pokemon in the end, but why go this far? What's Lexy doing here?"_

Cartwright wrung his hands around his cane, softening his gaze at me. "All I want is to show the world there's another way to training, or at least, help them see like that. Like I've said, you're getting smarter. You're gaining control of your own lives." He smiled. "And that's a wonderful thing." Then, his smile curdled into a frown. "But, the people who run this region, especially Heathcliffe, try to pretend it's not happening. I don't know whether they want to line their pockets from the training industry or are genuinely against Pokemon evolving by principle, but either way, it's much safer to train. It's much easier to raise a Pokemon and teach them nothing of the outside world, rather than give them a chance to carve out their own fates."

He then waved his cane at the whole of the room, moving it like he was tracing a wide circle in the sand. "That's something I've been trying to change. I sacrificed everything for this. I had to sell my pharmaceutical company, cut ties with all my relatives, and drag my own name through the mud, in order to start this project. Lucy, Reggie, Henry and Rhode are just a few Pokemon that've helped me make this a reality. This is a massive risk, but if it pays off, we could show the suits that Pokemon are worth educating."

Rhode nodded. " _This world's a mess._ _En_ _'t any point in us makin' it worse by waterboarding you guys."_

I would've asked him what waterboarding meant, but decided against it.

" _Yeah, mon,"_ Reggie said, " _We'll always look out for you, ya dig?"_

" _I ain't bustin' my ass every day on security for nothing,"_ Henry said.

" _And I wouldn't help organise the lessons and direct everyone here if I didn't believe in it."_ Lucy said.

"Well said, everyone. And the human students here too make this a reality. Lexy's scholarship here, along with the other students, and the research the rest of my staff are doing, will all contribute to this field. They'll be shared with the social scientists that shape the region's history, making signs of progress inalienable. Better than what they try to push in mainstream academia. So everyone here, including you, contributes to make the world a better place."

Cartwright shambled towards me, doing his best to walk by himself on that cane of his. When Lucy offered to help, he held his hand out and trotted the rest of the way, eventually dropping to his knees in front of me. There, I got a good look at him for the first time. His wrinkled face was marked with age, but smooth and friendly as well. That smile radiated positive energy as well. Even his balding head had that old fart charm about him. He didn't seem like the kind to drown Riolu in sinks or something.

"Please, Curio. If you consider me a threat, then tell me. Rhode reads my aura regularly, but some auras can be biased. If you read into mine, right here and now, then you will find out for certain. If you still wish to leave after that, we will do everything in our power to ease you back into the outside world. But please, do this for me, so you and I can have some peace of mind."

I closed my eyes, honing in on his aura, which was fully transparent. He kept his secrets of GeL from the outside world kept in little boxes, sure, but his memories and his thoughts were all out in the open for me to peek into. They swirled with some of the lingering thoughts of his past, which I only got little glimpses into, but were enough to glean something from. Several names appeared of the Pokemon that left or passed away for one reason or another, and he cared for all of them, never forgetting them even in his old age.

The main big thought was his concern for me as well as all the other Pokemon in the facility. He always thought about how they were getting on and what he would do to try and meet their wishes. He was also concerned about whether or not the humans found the studies fruitful, but all around, his biggest concern was for the future, and whether or not his actions would pay off in the end. And on top of that, there was a great underpinning of longing. He missed his old university chums. He missed his siblings. He missed his coworkers at the company he used to run. He missed his wife, who had passed away a few years before he started the GeL project. As well as that, a pang of guilt stabbed at his heart from having to leave them all behind, as well as feeling responsible for my struggles as well as M's and Shine's.

While I was still reeling from the fight for Shine's life as well as Azzy's outburst, I understood he really wanted the best for all of us, really. And from a quick glimpse into everyone else's auras, they wanted the same as well. So, I nodded, and, either out of comfort or just wanting to ease him up a little, hugged him. He patted my back, which felt strangely father-like for whatever reason. I guess you could've called him the patriarch of the facility, but whatever. I could've stayed in that embrace forever, but there were certain ends I needed to tie up. I pulled away to make eye contact.

" _Um, Wright?"_

"Yes," he said.

" _If my family knew about all of this, then why didn't they tell me?"_

"Again, I apologise. Lucy?" Wright glanced to his Gardevoir, who joined his side.

" _I visited them personally along with Azzy, once."_ Lucy frowned, wringing her leaf-green hands. " _It was hard, telling them they couldn't stay with you at the facility, or even visit. And we tried to go into every reason why we couldn't, including the information leakage issue. But, well, they said they didn't mind. They said they didn't want you to feel tethered to them, and that you were smart enough to make it on your own. And after you went, they wanted to find their own way."_

I took a deep breath, digesting that particular bit of info. Hearing that was a bit tough, to be honest. In a way, it was like being told that your family willingly abandoned you.

" _Though, if I may be so bold, we tried to help them out in other ways. Your brother seemed to be interested in teaching, so we gave him a few guides on how to approach it. When he learns how to read, I hope that will be a massive help to him."_

Despite that, in my family's way, I knew the thought of leaving me behind far from the truth. I listened back to that tape until it wore out, so I had memorised it in my head long before. Trunks was inspired by me. If it wasn't for me going, they probably never would've had the courage to leave the island or break free from Liam's influence. Just for good measure, I checked Lucy's aura, though she wasn't lying. Her heartbeat was steady and her thoughts were as clear as crystal, even with the psychic blockage.

So really, from that, I guess my family didn't want me worrying about them and just get on with what I was doing. But what was I doing, copying some human at making pottery? What good was that adding to the world?

Frankly, after all of that, my head was spinning. All the stuff about the politics of Sinnoh, as well as how GeL and us fit into the bigger picture, was an awful lot to take in. It's like all of a sudden, I had to carry the weight of the world on my shoulders. And with that, I just felt so… I don't know, insignificant. The world around me spun for a moment. I was phasing out.

Thankfully, Rhode caught me just before I hit the cold floor. I wasn't out for the count, just overwhelmed with everything. What I had heard. What I sensed with my aura. That time, I didn't struggle as Rhode lifted me up, supporting my body with his arms.

"You alright, lass?"

The room went back to normal and everything was still again. So great, I had almost fainted, on top of everything else that was happening. Still, I gathered myself long enough to give him some sort of reply.

"Yeah. S-sorry." I looked to the rest of the staff that time, including Cartwright the human. _"G-guys, I feel kind of crappy."_

" _Of course,"_ Lucy said with a curt nod. _"Do you want to go back to the base? We'll help you over there."_

" _N-no."_ I pulled away from Rhode's grasp, standing on my own two paws again. My knees felt wobbly, but I could still walk. _"_ _I_ _dunno._ _I do wanna go back for now, but_ _,_ _y'know,_ _all of you, I really dunno what to say._ _You still_ _could've eased me into it instead of lettin' it build up."_

" _We understand,"_ Lucy said.

" _This is insane,"_ I said, lowering my voice. _"Not you guys. Just. I need some space for a bit. Time to think."_

" _Yeh, o' course."_ Rhode fiddled with one of his bandages. " _Sorry, lass._ _Din't mean to drag you into all this_ _."_

" _Not your fault, I don't think."_

" _We might need you to talk to M in your own time,"_ Lucy said, _"but just so you can recuperate from this, I will postpone your studies for the time being until you feel ready. You deserve a break after the hard work you've been doing."_

I grunted. _"Maybe. But has it been that hard of work to do? Just makin' stuff? I don't know what the point of it is any more."_

" _It might come_ _back,"_ Lucy said with a bow. _"But again, the option to opt out is always there."_

"Before you go, Curio," Cartwright said, cane in hand, "if you do decide to leave, I would like you to ask yourself this: have you enjoyed the time you spent here, and have you learnt something from it? You don't have to come up with an answer right away, just in your own time. It would be something to think about, in any case."

It went without saying that I returned to the base, though the events were still a blur. All of that time talking and pouring my heart out was exhausting. Being in that area again, even though the sunlight was the fake and the grass had that weird texture to it, it was still comforting. They really did go all out to make this area accommodating for us wild types. And better yet, that gave me the chance to sit and think.

Needless to say, talking to GeL gave me a new perspective about everything. Almost like I saw into something I shouldn't have, like peeping through a keyhole, but didn't think of it as a negative experience. My gut feeling was telling me to go some place else, still in a little state of fight or flight, but my mind was telling me to stay. Where would I go to? Would I trade in this current life for any other? It was too early to decide for sure at that point, especially when my preconceptions about GeL had been blown out of the water.

What would this mean for my future there? One with me and Shine together? One with me and the rest just enjoying those days spent in what should've been paradise?

I wasn't sure things were going to be the same after this. But I also knew for sure that without them, I wouldn't have had the tools to question them in the first place, and GeL encouraged me to use them. And that was a good thing. I hoped.


	37. Flowers for Ca(m)ellia

_**Content Warning: References to suicide, depictions of physical abuse, death and trauma.**_

* * *

Curio stopped, taking another swig of a half-empty bottle. Tony clicked the camera off for now, getting up to stretch his legs, and of course, pet Shine. While his ears were being scratched, Shine considered what Curio said, confirming it in his head. He had always known GeL were on the level, but then, how did that explain everything else? Surely, that alone couldn't have been enough to block his memories?

"You know," Tony said, turning to Curio, "when you said you enjoyed your time there, I was a little sceptical. But now I've heard what you did there, and know what GeL set out to do for certain, I believe you now."

"Eshhic!" She made a noise somewhere halfway between a hiccup and a sneeze before continuing. " _Yeah, wasn't trying to screw with you or anythin'. I meant what I said."_

"You still didn't seem fully convinced there."

" _Sure I wasn't. And I'm sure other peeps wouldn't be either. But really, I never said it was all black and white. Not like the games, if you know what I mean."_ She sighed, drumming her metallic fingers on her lap. " _You expect everythin' to be about good guys or bad guys as a kid. But people are people, really, is what I've learned becoming an adult mon. They can be both, or neither, I dunno. It's all a confusing mess, but I guess that's what life is."_

"Of course."

" _But, eh—"_ she glanced at Shine— " _I ain't got all day, so we might as well wrap up that screwed up year."_ She hiccuped again, putting a paw to her mouth. " _Sorry, I'm not drunk. I will be if I wanna get through this next part, though, trust me."_ A sip that time. " _So I bet you wanna know what happened to M after all that. Nearly killing someone isn't exactly something you can bounce back from."_

Tony grimaced, looking to Shine. "Of course not."

" _But, well, if you stick around for his story… eh, whatever, you'll make up your mind once you hear it."_

* * *

 **(Yes, what became of M?)**

Okay, so where was I the day he was sent away for good? No, actually, where was he? I was the one who went to visit him in the end. But let me set the scene again.

Since what happened with GeL and all that, I had taken a few days off to find my bearings again. For once, it was nice to kick back and relax in the midst of my studies, but that meant everyone else who would've been present in the base were in the middle of their own lessons. So there was pretty much nobody in my own area during the daytime, which left me alone with my thoughts. Thoughts about the rest of the world. Thoughts about GeL and their mission. Thoughts of what I learned. Thoughts of M stabbing…

Oh, screw this. While I wasn't ready to get back to work, doing nothing as those ideas swirled in my head started to weigh down on me. So, what to do? Talking to someone else was my first thought, but who? All of the other Pokemon were probably busy with their own lessons, and not just that, but the humans were probably doing their own thing too. Who knows where Azzy and Mack were, if they hadn't left already. Then how else could I have occupied my time while I waited for Shine?

The library. Me and him had spent a few times browsing the archives there, mostly for books on our own subjects, but I remembered there were also films listed in its own section on the screen. I had wanted to check them out for a while, since I loved watching the Pokemon anime in our lessons and wanted more of it, but didn't have the time to really look through it. Now I did, I needed an excuse to start.

It just started with looking for the Pokemon series, and then, seeing recommendations on the screen for lots of other stuff, including other animated films. Those were the ones I liked the look of the most, since they had a different style, not like the big-eyed ones I usually saw in the anime. The first one I rented was actually a stop-motion feature about a family of walking Hippopotas trying to stop Deoxys' meteorite from destroying their house. They had booths in the library I could watch stuff on, so I sat there, watching as I saw the figurines come to life. There was something about the way they moved as well as the world built around the sets that I really liked, and they felt real to me even though they obviously weren't. So I kept watching, looking for DVDs like that, and there were a lot of things that caught my eye. Something about a Rotom trapped in a TV that wanted to become real. Not much I remembered about the story, but just the way it moved got those gears spinning.

Okay, you get the point. As much as I could talk about this for ages, I have to stop somewhere. Basically, it didn't take long for me to become a reel junkie, so much so, after I had dinner, I went back to the library to watch some more, and I spent the next couple days just picking out different movies to watch and cycling through them in the booths. I took stacks of DVDs in at once. I had wasted a lot of time, but it was time I enjoyed wasting, and for the first time in a while, I forgot about everything else that was going on in GeL.

One night. I actually fell asleep there, zoning out to that Hippopotas movie on rewatch. I dunno, something about sitting on that cozy cushioned seat and watching something that soothing put me in a lull. The next morning, I woke up to a spiked paw tapping my shoulder through the booth's curtain. That was a bit of a surprise, but as soon as I processed it, I knew who it was.

"Ugh, Rhode, lemme… sleep."

He pulled the curtain, letting some of the light in. Half awake, I saw Rhode in full, except this time, he didn't have a t-shirt on at all. Not that it made much difference, being half naked from down below was still being naked, but at least his wound was fully patched up. He glanced at the stack of DVD cases and grinned.

"So, you went on a bit of a binge-watch there, lass?"

"Binge… watch?" I said, rubbing my eyes. "Is that what they call it?" So it meant I had watched a lot, and with that, realised that I had stayed in the library longer than I planned to. "Crap, I was meant to get back to the base, wasn't I?"

"Eh, don't matter. Some students stay in 'ere over night anyway. Besides, you seemed peaceful."

Nothing got past him. Well, maybe at the time, but my worries were still in the background. "Yeah, I feel better." I mustered up a smile even though I wasn't fully into it.

"Alright." Rhode must've seen through that, but let it slide anyway. "Do you mind if I sit down? That's if you wanna talk after the other day."

Since those binge-watching days gave me some space, it was enough time to be on speaking terms with my tutor again. So, I scooched over to the end of the booth and grabbed my tail to avoid it being sat on as Rhode made himself comfortable. He rubbed his paws, pausing for a moment. It seemed the other day was still on his mind.

"Sorry 'bout what happened," he said with a sigh. "I still wish we could've done something different."

"Fine." I wasn't really, but I knew they had no other choice on their part.

"So…" He clicked his tongue and crossed his legs. "Have you thought any more 'bout whether or not you're staying?"

"No, not yet." That came across as more blunt than it should've been.

"Ah, lass-" he held his paw up in defense- "Didnae mean to urge you or anythin'. I just-"

"I know." I was tempted to storm out then, though Rhode's aura eased me back in. "Look, teach, I know you're sticking your neck out for me, so thanks." I ran my paws through my tail, smoothing it out. "I still need time to decide."

"Right." Rhode frowned. "I was mainly thinking because of M, if he's being sent out soon. But…" Another tongue click. "Well, I might as well say it, we've been havin' problems with 'im lately."

The mention of that Marowak would've put a spike in my chest if there wasn't already a spike there. "O-oh. What's he done this time?"

"Nothin'." Rhode sighed again as he fiddled with the fabric of the curtain. "He just en't really in the best of states. Can't blame the poor sod. Afraid to say we 'ad to restrain him outside his Pokeball. I know it ain't humane, but it's the best we can do to stop him killin' himself."

"Killing…" That was an alien concept to me, the act of suicide. Not so alien once I grew up, of course, but back then, that was one thing I had no idea could happen, even though I knew death was the great equaliser out there. A Riolu dies in the wild? Who cares, there are three more hatching someplace else. But if everything was about survival, then offing myself would've been the last thing on my mind.

"He won't talk to me; he's locked his aura up again," Rhode said as he patted my lap. "But I'm hoping he would listen to you. He's worried sick about Shine, though he's still being treated."

That was definitely a shocker. "H-he is? He attacked-"

"Yeh, I know, but he does feel bad about it." He might've sensed I was put off by the whole thing, so he inched away from me, sitting on the edge of the seat. "You don't have to though, it won't make a difference since they're still sending 'im out. It's up to you."

Okay, well I just said no and continued watching those movi— of course, I said yes. I wasn't just going to sit with my spike up my butt while they were trying to help him.

 **(Ouch.)**

Yeah, charming, I know, hardy har. But in all seriousness, I needed to know. I still had loose ends to tie up, and if I didn't try to solve M's puzzle, I'd probably never have the chance to do it again. So I agreed in the end, and me and Rhode were on our not-so-merry way to the infirmary where he was being held. What M did though still lingered in my mind, the way he drove that club towards himself and, well, tried to self-harm in general. I wasn't sure if the two were related.

"Rhode?" I asked.

"Yeh?"

"Why do people try to kill themselves?"

"Oh." He chuckled to himself, though there wasn't any humour in it. Maybe it was the lack of humour that drove him to laugh it out. "It's complicated. I guess I owe it to talk to you about these things, now you're more grown up. I dunno if Azzy ever did."

I shook my head.

"Well, it 'appens a lot in humans. It's hard to pin down, but eh, the simplest way I can put it is that they can be so overwhelmed or put into despair that, in their eyes, dying is better than staying alive. It ain't really natural, but it 'appens. It's like your mind's cavin' in on itself."

I didn't know how to take that, but I got the gist of it that time. A year ago, I probably wouldn't have. "So… what about Pokemon? You said it's not natural."

"Aye," Rhode said, taking a deep breath. "When the main thing wilds want to do is survive, dying is natural. One has to kill the other in order to get their next meal. Killing themselves, now, isn't normal. I mean, for a while, humans thought that suicide was somethin' unique to them. Somethin' only they can do. Since they 'ave a sense of self, only they can self-destruct." He spat at the floor. "That's' a lot o' tosh. Anythin' with a living, growing brain ain't immune to those thoughts. It's like if I said humans were only capable of cruelty. Well, they are, and I dunno of any Pokemon to start wars, but it's nature."

"So you're saying nature's cruel?" I tugged at my aura sensors. "I wouldn't wanna live in the wild-wild like M did then."

"Nah, nature's just indifferent. Pokemon hunt prey because they 'ave to take care o' themselves. Those are their own needs; there ain't any morality involved there. But, if we were to form a region of our own, and saw somethin' another region did that we didn't like, or wanted to take for ourselves, well, we'd go to war. We'd only evolve, just like humans 'ave all these years." He chuckled again, putting his arms behind his head. "Maybe I'm gettin' off topic."

"No, I understand, kinda. So, why did M try to kill himself? That was the moment he snapped out of it, wasn't it?"

"Yeh. Well, we're here, so…" He stopped, just short of opening the pristine, white door. "You can ask him then. It's too early to say at this rate but…" He trailed off, a frown emerging on his jagged features. "Look, whatever 'appened to him, it wasn't pleasant. I…" He grit his teeth next. "I sense it might have something to do with his family, if what you told us is true."

I had to stop him before he opened the door handle. "Will he try to harm anyone while I'm in there?"

"Nah, again, we've restrained him. There's literally nothin' he can do to anyone or himself." Before we entered, Rhode put his paw on my shoulder. "Whatever you see in there might not pretty. I'm sorry in advan—"

"Let's just get this over with," I said. And so, when we came in, M was tied down to a medical chair. There were restraints around his arms, I guessed to prevent him from scratching himself, and straps from the back cushion to hold him in place. He didn't struggle, even when he saw me come in. And when I made eye contact with him, well.

Crap.

He had a blank stare, not unlike what he used to pull whenever he was on his own at the base. Again, he would just sit and stare for hours. But this time, he was paying attention to me. His eyes tracked my movements, sure, but the reason for his blank stare, well, it was like he had lost the will to live. Like his mind had given up and his body was just a shell.

Of course, he wasn't the same as he was when he snapped, but that memory was still fresh. That eye. The blood. The club. None of that was going to go away any time soon. To avoid lashing out or doing something else, I looked away, turning my attention to the rest of the room.

Shine's Pokeball was still there, tucked into a healing shelf where M couldn't reach. There was a nurse by the Marowak's side, as well as a female ranger, who I had never seen before in the facility. She had her fair share of scars as well, not unlike M, but she seemed like she had all her marbles in one box. So Rhode went to the ranger first.

" _Anythin' happen while I was away?"_ he said.

"Nope," the ranger replied. "Safe and sound." The human looked to me next. "You're that other student of his, right?"

" _Um, yeah!"_ I blurted out, a bit surprised by how she broke the ice to another Pokemon like that. While her free hand stroked M's head, she held the other gloved hand out to me.

"I hope you can give us some info. You seem smart, so I trust you'll help us out."

" _Well, thanks, anythin' to figure this mess out, I guess,"_ I said, returning the handshake. Then something else came to mind. " _You're a ranger, right? What's it like out there?"_

"Hard, but rewarding." She smirked. "I don't usually get to work with human-speakers, so this is a nice change of pace. Saves me going crazy out in the sticks."

" _Just don't blab anythin' about this to the outside,"_ Rhode said. " _You're under contract, aye?"_

"Yep, sure, I know. What happens in this room stays in this ro—" she drew her hand away as M tried to bite at her fingers. "I think he's getting tired of me yammering on." She crossed her arms. "To be honest, I'm not that optimistic, really. I deal with pure ferals every day, and I don't think there's much to gain by questioning this poor creature."

" _That's what we want your professional opinion on, lass._ "

"Yes, of course." She patted my shoulder. "Still, we should get started."

Everything was set. The nurse poured me a glass of water in case I needed to calm myself down, the ranger was there in case things got hairy, and Rhode was there to translate what we said for the ranger. So I sat on a chair opposite M, and we were both face to face. Pokemon to Pokemon. Both our hearts were beating; I felt his pulse through my aura. Whatever he was going through, well, you can put two and two together, but for me to be nervous was a bit of a surprise. I wasn't in danger. But I felt I was on the brink of discovering something truly terrible there.

M's eyes drooped. He whined, making a soft rumbling sound. Everyone else was silent, save for the pulse of the healing stations beside us. I was about to say something to break the tension, anything to get started, but decided against it, at first. It always seemed like walking on hot coals with M before. But what else did I have to say at that point? All I wanted was the truth, so in the end, I just went with my gut.

"M?" I asked. "Um, do you know what you're doing here?"

I waited for a response, but even when he blinked, there was no reaction. Call it intuition, though, I assumed he already knew and didn't want to repeat anything. So I just cut to the chase, not that I was comfortable bringing it up at all.

"I thought about what you told me back there. You called me Sis."

That got a reaction out of him, as his eyes shot up. It didn't really seem in good taste to ask about a dead sibling right away, so something else came to mind.

"Y'know, I've got three brothers back home. I dunno where they are now, but they're doing fine, last I heard. But I never knew what it was like to have a sister. Being a sister, I kind of felt like I got on everyone's nerves. Can't count how many times I pushed my little bro into the lake."

I hoped he got the hint. In case it wasn't clear, I sighed and crossed my legs, showing I was deep in thought about it. Again, no response. At least, none spoken. There was another pulse, aside from M's heartbeat, that I sensed. This time, it came from his head, and I knew from there that I had something. Rhode picked up on it too as he went to my side.

"Just focus on him and nothing else. If you need to get out of it, squeeze my paw."

I grabbed onto him for comfort, and with that out of the way, dove into M's mind, no longer a dense jungle, but a clearing in an ocean of trees. Now, how can I describe this? What M saw wasn't what I saw, just the way he remembered it, so keep that in mind when I talk about it here.

What I saw with my powers was more like an impression than an accurate depiction of a memory. It was like a crayon sketch, as the whole thing was drawn in broad strokes on a flat plane. Not too vivid, but just enough colour that you could tell what each mark meant. In the middle of all of this green, both the bluer and the yellower shades of it, were two orange lines for two Cubone. The bigger line stood behind another, or to the left of it, since there wasn't anything that indicated a sense of space. The smaller line on the right was surrounded by pink, with what I assumed to be flowers. So, putting that together, I could only conclude that the bigger line was M, and the smaller one was his sister. So she must've been the younger one of the bunch.

With a squeeze of my tutor's paw, that brought me back to that sterile room again. M looked pleadingly at me, like he wanted to speak up. I took a sip of water, gathering my thoughts before I continued.

"So, let me guess, she was picking flowers?"

"Y-yes." Finally, I got a peep out of him. As comfortably as he could've done in those restraints, M shifted his body, ready to speak. "Flower. Field. She… wanted the flower name. Told her not to go too far. Mom was worried. Flower… on head." He smiled. An actual, genuine smile, and in that moment there, M no longer looked like a ticking time bomb, but a happy Marowak. "Sister, had flower on head, no skull. No skull, just like me. Saw whole soft face. Her eyes were red, not like mine. I know colours. Pink flower. She looked… wonderful with that on."

So I definitely could tell she was important to him. Was. Damn it.

 **(Do you need a break?)**

Nah, let's carry on. Anyway, that was something to go on. Rhode relayed it to the ranger, though she had no reaction to speak of yet. So I kept on asking.

"Was she your lil' sis?"

"No."

"I thought she was smaller."

"Small..." His eyes widened again. "How… you know?"

I covered my mouth, regretting what I said instantly. I didn't want to overwhelm him with the aura reading, after all.

"I just guessed," I fibbed.

"No. Smaller… knelt down. Leg bad. Took… extra good care of her."

I didn't want to ask how that happened right away. It seemed like a touchy subject, so, well, I just changed it.

"It seemed like you loved her a lot, didn't you?"

"Yes." His eyes drooped again. "I… she… uhhhhhh…." He itched to say something, on the tip of his tongue, but just outside of his reach. Maybe he didn't know how to put it into words. That was another chance to look into his aura.

* * *

There were a few pictures, the first one being a pretty, but very messy watercolour painting. You could just barely tell each of the colours apart and what they were supposed to mean, since they were all blended together like several ink washes thrown together on the same page. There were a bunch of trees though and a sky, with a brown box in the middle of all the grassland, so that was one landmark I could've pinned my bearings down to.

Then another painting, this time, from M's perspective as he walked towards this box. The paint started shifting around like oil on glass, creating a lot more details than what I saw before. I saw how many leaves were on a nearby tree. I saw pawprints in the mud, trailing over to the brown box. And in the centre of the image was that brown box, except the shapes were more fleshed out, so it created a roof, windows and a door. This appeared to be a cabin.

The next painting was just the same, except the frame was getting closer to the shack. Then the paintings started getting faster and faster until it moved just like an animated film, sequenced together at 24 frames a second. It was no longer just a series of still images.

M entered, and there was a Cubone sitting in the middle of the floor, crying alone. I gathered she was still M's sister. Unlike before, I got a good look at the rest of her: one of her legs was missing. Whatever was left of it was only a stump, though the rest of her limbs were intact. So she probably couldn't have walked that well, but I guess she still ran. She must've gotten to the hide somehow.

Around the cabin, there were books and papers that had been scattered across the wooden floor. There was a set of paints lying about, which I guessed came from an open toolbox. There were even paintings hanging up on the wooden walls, ones that actually looked pretty decent, filled with landscapes as well as studies of random figures and Pokemon. But on the other end of the cabin, there were also traps, like a mesh net, a few knives of different shapes and sizes, and even a gun with darts displayed in a glass case. If I had to make one guess, a hunter must've lived there before.

M stepped forward as he reached his hand out to his sibling Cubone. His sister still had tears in her eyes, and she looked away from M with a guilty look on her face. Guilty? What for? That I couldn't quite place, so I held onto that thought for another time.

After that, they looked around. Sis looked at one of the pictures on the floor, admiring its handiwork. Then she picked out the set of paints, not fully knowing what to do with it, but excited to experiment nonetheless. All the paint tubes fell on the floor, and with one step of her paw on a certain paint squeezer, purple squirted out: a colour she had never seen before. She laughed, and stepped on the other ones, trying to see all its different colours and textures. M joined in too, stomping on the floor with delight. They tried to pick it up, but they got their paws all caked with various pigments. Then they saw the pieces of scrap paper. They smeared it all over that, creating the various shapes that emerged in their minds. M painted the sun, with one imperfect yellow circle in the middle of the white space. His sister had mixed white and red together, creating a pink circle, except with alternating strokes in the middle, looking like flower petals. By that point, the siblings had been covered in the stuff, though from the looks of Sis as she smiled, and the actions of M as he played along, they were both happy.

There was a book by Sis' feet, with an illustration of a bunch of flowers at the centre, and black text describing it, though the words were illegible like smudged ink. Sis sat back down and had M help her flip through the book, which all contained illustrations of different plants with accompanying text. Then, there was one that stood out: the pink flower she had picked out in the other memory. She stared at it and her mouth was open. I guess the two were talking, though the words weren't there. This whole time, it had been like watching a silent film.

Then the film stopped, like someone had hit the pause button. Then came the next painting. The door opened, and a Marowak was there, its red eyes flashing with rage through the skull. The painting's hue shifted as everything went from a natural, earthy palette to a kaleidoscope of clashing colours. From green, brown and blue to red, black, purple and yellow.

Another painting. The Marowak took one step forward. Everything around the room was being ripped apart, like the universe was a canvas and the rips in it tore the fabric of reality to shreds.

Yet another step; there was only the Marowak, as it raised a fist at M.

Then, complete darkness. Something hit my face. What was this? Pain? I shouldn't have felt that. Damn it. Go back, I told myself, go back. No. No. No.

* * *

I squeezed his paw again, actually digging into it that time, and Rhode's yelp drew me back into the room. I had to shield my eyes since everything seemed so bright after that. Rhode wasn't hurt, though he purposefully waved his paw as if he had touched something hot.

"Sorry," I said, "got a bit too into it."

"That's fine, lass," he said. "Take a breathe if you need ta'."

A few sips of water later, and I was up to speed again. While it felt like I had left my body completely and came back a new Mon, M's slack-jawed expression hadn't changed. He was still paying attention; just waiting for me to pick it up from last time again. A part of me sensed he knew about my aura and was just playing along, but I still needed to get on with it.

"Your sister seemed like a good painter. She really liked that pink flower, didn't she?"

"Yes." M mumbled to himself again, then took a deep breath. His eyes were in focus again: confident and alert. "I—I remember. My sister found it beautiful. Liked its colour and shape. Wanted to find out the name of it. I thought it was silly; we didn't have our own names, so why did a flower need one? Didn't need names in the wild."

That struck me as a lot more fluent. I had never heard him choose his words like that before, even in our own tongue, but he was thinking about difficult concepts to grasp for most Pokemon.

"Why did you name yourself M then?"

He grunted, sounding like an 'em'. I took the hint and moved on.

"What was she trying to find in that book?"

"The same flower. Didn't know it was a book then, but she looked anyway. She found it and tried to read, but couldn't. Couldn't understand human words. Nonsense. She wanted to learn. Didn't know how, but wanted to understand it. Wanted to understand this world. I wanted to help her find out. Didn't… have purpose before that. To survive. To hunt. As Pokemon. That gave us something."

I really wanted to ask if he found GeL useful and if he learned anything at all, but that ship had already sailed. It would've been an insult to him now he was going away. The next thing on my mind, I felt as bad, if not worse, for asking, but had to anyway. There was no easy way to say it.

"I, er, I saw that Marowak, was it your mothe—"

"DON'T!" he screamed, thrashing against the bindings. That made me jump, and got the ranger's attention as she stared at him, ready to suppress him if the restraints ever broke. He stopped not long after, relaxing into the chair, though his expression had changed entirely, looking more like his old feral self than before. "Bad! Bad! No name! Doesn't deserve it! Doesn't! Doesn't! Doesn't!" At that point, he had descended into snarling and drooling, as if he had smelled blood.

I had finally stumbled upon She Who Must Not Be Named. So, it didn't take a genius with a mind-reading degree to get that she had beaten M up. But what for? What happened after that? And why was his sister crying?

As if to answer my question, M wiped his maw free of drool and cleared his throat. "Sis ran away. Was crying. That… that… Bad threatened her. Said she would feed her to Houndoom if she growled at her. Respect elders. Don't stray away. Don't run away. Don't run away from me. You are my children and my children alone. Nothing else can have you. Nothing else will take—" M cut himself off, gritting his teeth before he sighed and continued. "Why do I remember that? What she said? I don't want those memories. Memories. Memories. Me—"

"M?" I said, snapping him out of his ramble. Though what I did was a little crazy, I pulled my chair closer to him, close enough that I could've petted him if I felt the need to. The rest kept their distance, though of course, still within good reach in case everything went to hell in a handbasket. I was about to say something else, wanting to ask about his mom, but it would've felt like rubbing salt in the wound. Instead, I reached out to him slowly. He stared at my paw as if it was something dangerous, and sensing that, I stopped, letting him get used to it. After a while, he lowered his head, letting me stroke it. The textures of his skin, the scales atop his head, and the top of his broken horns were all rough. Despite this, he let out a low rumble, somewhat like a purr. That seemed to soothe him.

I still felt awful for bringing it up. While my own experiences with my parents weren't always positive, at least my Mom treated me fairly. I couldn't have even imagined her harming her own cubs.

And speak of the devil, that's when M raised his head, nudging my paw away to speak.

"Was better."

"H-huh?"

"I remember her being… better before. Looked after us. Looked after me. Before… sis, she…" He took a deep breath before continuing. "She'd sing me to sleep. Sounded different through the mask. No words, but it sounded nice. While I grew, she let me play while looking after me. We bathed in the water. We climbed trees together. Still had to hunt, which was stressful for her, but she did it for me. If I saw anything bad, she'd cuddle me."

I just gave him a small pat on the shoulder, letting him carry on.

"Then Sis hatched; still had her leg. Taking care of both of us was hard. More hunting. More crying. But we carried on. Harder to take care of Sis; she wandered off, asking random Pokemon, or birds, about flying. Bad… not bad… Good kept her close. Sometimes, shout, but not hurt. Sometimes, Good cried alone. Asked why. Snapped at us, saying crying was weak of her and weak of us."

M squinted, getting misty eyed. "Am I weak? Why do I cry?"

"No," I said. "You saw me crying before, and you didn't call me weak. You hugged me, remember?"

All he gave in reply was another grunt. Mmm. I dried his eyes for him, which he bowed his head at.

"Good, so afraid she'd lose us. Lose me. Lose Sis. One not-sun, we sat together, resting in the ground. Dug a pit. Good would watch after us while we slept. Then… then…"

He whined again, trying to clutch at his head, but not having the mobility to do so with his restraints. Another pulse. On the verge of another memory, I dove into his aura again, expecting the worst.

It was a crayon sketch again, with the same simplistic style as before, except… Well, in the middle, there was a crying Cubone, with blue smudged dots for tears. All around her were blue and yellow blobs with star-like tails. One of the blobs had red all over it. And Sis' leg, well, it was all covered with scratch marks in the canvas, again, like a tear in the universe.

Squeeze. I didn't even need to see that much to know when to call it quits. My head was starting to hurt with everything I was diving into, so I took another sip, hoping it would clear my mind. Well, it wasn't so much the constant aura reading, but what I saw in it that was starting to wear on me. Those blue and yellow blobs looked oddly familiar to a certain Luxio I knew. My heart sank at that. So, was that why M attacked Shine in particular? And what happened to his sister after that?

"The pack of Luxio attacked," M said, eyes in a deep, orange focus. "They targeted Sis while we slept, but it was… Good's turn to look after us that night, but she was asleep too. Luxio grabbed leg by the teeth, tearing it off. Sis screamed. I tried to defend her, but was attacked back. I couldn't do anything. Too weak. Good targeted the biting Luxio—" M bashed against the restraints, making me jump back in my seat. The other guys in the infirmary looked with caution. "Good bashed its head with the bone club. Again. Again. Again. Clunk. Clunk. Clunk. Smash. Drip. Then, it stopped. The rest ran. Good was alone, with Sis screaming."

M sighed, sniffling.

"Good screamed too, wailing 'all my fault, all my fault' into the night. I tried to help Sis up, finding leaves to cover the wounds. I thought she was going to die." Another sigh. "Then, Good turned to Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad turned around, shouting 'all your fault, all your fault' at me, then punched. Punch. Punch. Punch. Then scratched. Scratch. Scratch. Scratch." He tilted his head from left to right, revealing all the splotches on his face where the bruises and scars were. "Not Good."

Rhode translated all of this for the ranger, who huffed, then went to the side of the room with a sigh.

"Alright, time out." Rhode stepped in, squeezing my paw as he lifted me up. M looked at us, pleading again without words, and Rhode shot him a glance of sympathy before going off to the corner of the infirmary where the ranger was. From the look on her face, she didn't seem to be taking this well.

" _You heard all that, didn't you?"_ Rhode said. " _I can already guess where this is going."_

"Y-yes, I know. Listen." The ranger regained her composure and crossed her arms. "This happens in the wild a lot of the time. Sometimes, parents lash out at their cubs as a response to stress or as a form of keeping them distant. It's important for the cubs, because in this scenario, it could either be life or death if they don't behave."

" _Ain't that not abuse? You 'eard all of that, and think it's normal for wilds? Listen, M self harms. I've seen it 'appen. And I know he does it out of stress or guilt. And what he said about not deserving kindness before, that's more than your typical strict parent case out there. Imagine if he was a human kid."_

"You're comparing Leppas to Orans. Of course, that would be abuse in the human world. But you can't compare the two as if they're one and the same."

Rhode snickered, thumbing his nose. " _D'you forget who you're talkin' to, ey?"_

"No. I don't mean in your case, or hers." She shot me a quick glance. "But—"

" _You know what, forget it."_ Rhode rubbed at his forehead. " _We're never gonna get anywhere like this. Let's just carry on."_

"My thoughts exactly," the ranger said.

" _Ready to step back in, C?"_

I nodded, and went back to my seat opposite M. He leered at me that time, obviously not pleased, if his spike in anger was anything to go by.

"Not a beast," he said. "Don't talk about me like I am."

That was new. Mind you, I didn't think talking in plain sight was a very good idea to begin with, but even then, I didn't expect M's reaction. Still, there was something about what he said that rubbed me the wrong way. Why did he attack Shine? A part of my own aura flared up, but it quickly died down as I breathed in. Right, I wasn't going to get anywhere if I shifted the blame to him.

"Sorry," I said. "Then, that place in the woods, was that the same thing that happened when Mo— um, Bad found you?"

"Yes." He closed his eyes, thinking for a moment, then opened them again. "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight times it happened since the first. It hurt. Didn't cry. Couldn't cry."

That was the first time I heard M count. So he really was taking those lessons to heart. "I'm sorry to hear that." I grasped at my lap, tugging at its fur. "How… horrible."

"Yes. Horrible. Bad."

He paused, relaxing in his chair again. Seconds passed. Then, a minute. Then, well, I don't know. He stayed still, not talking at all, while I tried to continue the conversation. But what else was there to say without setting him off again? Yet, I could tell there was more to it. There was something missing.

"Look," the ranger said, "if we can't find anything else, we should stop. We've heard enough."

" _No!"_ I shouted. That must've been a bit of a surprise for her. " _No. Hold on. I'm…"_

Another pulse. I looked to M, who blankly stared off to the side of the room, mumbling to himself, repeating 'Sis' over and over again. That was the golden opportunity I needed to read his aura. So I dove in, hopefully, for the last time.

* * *

It was another set of watercolour paintings, starting off with M looking at himself in a puddle while his family slept by a tree not too far away. The tips of his little horns were broken, and there were purple splotches on his face, most notably, one blackened eye with swollen bumps around it. Then another painting, messy, this time, with M's paw splashing the water, covering the canvas in a blue wash.

Next painting, his sister woke up, limping over to his side. She didn't have the leg anymore. The two were talking. She was crying again, punching herself in the face. M grabbed her arm, and she looked shocked. Maybe M was consoling her. In any case, she calmed down and smiled as M nursed her head. The image became an orange blur, which I guessed was because he was nuzzling her at the time.

Sis pointed at a fluttering silhouette, which danced from treetop to treetop. She asked M something, not known to my ears, but to him anyway. She frowned. Doubt? Then, a slight smile, with a twinkle in her eyes. There was hope. Hope. An abstract concept, hope. You can't really catch hope in a net and eat it, but there it was.

Despite her limited movement, she hooked her claws into one of the trees, climbing up the bark with ease. M joined her as she helped him up on the branch. Then, they helped each other jump from treetop to treetop, with M guiding her through the maze of forestry to follow the winged figure. They ended up straying further away from Bad, but they didn't care.

Finally, they caught sight of the bird, perched atop a tree much higher up than any of the others they had climbed. Sis didn't waver, leaping towards one branch and clawing her way up to the top. M reluctantly followed, ready to catch his sister if anything happened. Finally, the two joined each other, in awe of this bird, who had a blue plumage and broad wings, roosting atop. It appeared to be a Honchkrow. There was a nest with large eggs, which the flying Pokemon roosted over. Naturally, it didn't react well to the two, expanding its wings and readying its talons to take action.

Sis spoke, though no words came through on my end at first. The sequenced paintings were becoming more vivid. Sis' face was carved out in much more detail, capturing all her contours, sharp points and smooth edges. For Cubone standards, she truly did look wonderful. This time, her mouth made sounds.

"We don't wanna hurt," she said. "I hope your babies grow to be strong."

The Honchkrow's words were silent.

"But, please. I wanna talk to you about something. Have you seen what's outside of here? There was something not made by us back there; we saw it ourselves."

There was spoken silence again.

"Humans? They made that. We didn't know what they were, but we had fun. I want to know more about them."

…

"What do you mean they're dangerous?"

…

"They… hunt us?"

…

"Yes, but we hunt each other too! What's the difference?"

…

"Can't you show us? I still wanna know! You can take us on your back, right? Aren't you big enough?"

The bird cawed, slapping them in the face with a strong gust. It wasn't strong enough to knock them to their deaths, as they maintained their balance, but that was enough for them to take the hint and leave. The two climbed down, descending onto a lower branch as they weighed their options.

"What should I do? W-we can't go back to her, she'll kill us both! E-er, let's go find some place else! We can find another flying type who's friendly can't we?" She tilted her head, then took M's arms, shaking them. "Please! We can't stay here, we have to keep going!"

A growl from below. No, several. It rang through the soundless forest, as the leaves rustled and various fliers swooshed in the air, escaping the scene. There was a pack of Luxio and one Luxray at the bottom, staring them down from a distance. Sis leaned over, worry washed over by a much more intense sense of fear.

"T-that's them! Run!"

In her rush, Sis leapt off the branch to another tree, but didn't quite stick the landing. She was hanging off of it, and even though she tried to pull herself up, she struggled to reach her one leg to climb back up. That's when M stepped into action, reaching out to help her.

"This is for my cub!" the Luxray yelled. Electricity crackled, and then, a bolt of lightning shot up in the air, targeting the branch Sis held onto. It reached closer. M reached closer. Both of them reached at the same time, one hand grabbing her towards life, and the other towards death. Except the other hand was faster. The wood burned, then, SNAP-

* * *

"STOP!" M screamed, thrashing against the restraints. "My memories are mine to keep! Stay out of there! Stop digging them back up! No! No, no, no, no, nonononononononononononononono no. No. No. No…"

Everyone was on guard at that point. The ranger, Rhode, and myself as well, as I stood up, backing away. M continued mumbling, until eventually, it became all out screeching. Beyond human, beyond Pokemon, it sounded like his soul was being sucked out by Yveltal. It became the only thing left in the room; everything else was eclipsed by that screech. That goddamn screech.

I can still hear it in my head.

It died down into incoherent noises, a mix between shouting and rambling, but he was no longer struggling. Eventually, those noises died out too, descending into M quietly sobbing. His whole face was scrunched up in sorrow, a mix of tears, drool and snot, and his aura, well, it was no longer blank. It radiated the emotions you'd expect from it, with no filter and nothing blocking it this time. I joined in with M, crying as well as his feelings flooded into mine. Rhode still kept it together, though he was misty eyed as well. The ranger turned away from us, though through osmosis, I guessed she felt it too.

"I…" M spoke up, at last. His throat was hoarse, so it came out as a croak. "Why… was I born? Why… live just to hunt? To fight? To survive? My life… no… purpose… no… point…"

That was yet another surprise. Was that what pushed him over the edge, that feeling of everything crashing down on him all at once? I thought back to what Rhode said, about why people killed themselves, and remembered how some did it when everything felt hopeless. But to me, even with all he had done, M's life had value. Besides, I didn't want to kick him while he was down.

"N-no," I said, sniffling, "you—"

"Stop." M tried to look at me, but couldn't see through all the fluid on his face. That must've stung. "P-please, someone, help. I'm, I'm all alone. Help. Help. Help." He trembled, shaking, with a new intense aura of fear spreading throughout the room like a thick fog.

" _For god's sake,_ " Rhode said, " _I can't take this any more."_ He approached the chair that held the Marowak, trying to undo the restraints, when the ranger stepped forward, blocking his way.

"He's flipping out," the ranger said. "You're going to do more harm than good by releasing him."

" _Can't you see he's sufferin', though?"_ Rhode tried to move side to side, reaching out towards the chair, but the ranger gripped his arm, squeezing his wrist.

"He's unstable. We can't let him escape. What are you going to do, remove me by force? You Lucario could kill me in a blink, you know." She held up the Pokeball. "If you lay a paw on me, my own Pokemon will have a word or two with you. I'll tell what happened to the world."

" _You wouldn't,"_ Rhode snarled.

"Then keep this Marowak under control." She walked Rhode over to another side of the room, still going back and forth about the 'release him or don't release him' thing. But then, that left me and M alone. That snivelling, shivering wreck of a Marowak.

I couldn't just sit by and do nothing; I had to take action. I pounced over to the chair and undid the velcro around M's wrists, as well as the straps at the back. It didn't take a lot of steps at all, but the main thing was to keep M from realising that and lashing out. Except he didn't resist at all back there.

M was free at last from the bindings. Whatever he did next, I just hoped to god that he didn't snap again, that I was right to trust him. And if he did, I would just move away from him, and he would be in his Pokeball again. Simple as that. He stood there, and we saw eye to eye as I knelt down to his level. Finally, I dove into his immediate thoughts without fearing any backlash.

 **Please, help me.**

That was all I needed to reach out and embrace him, without hesitation. He felt warm, with all the blood pumping through his body. His cries were muffled against my belly. In that moment, I saw him for what he was: not a monster, not a beast, not some heartless feral, but a Pokemon, just like me. We were both young and confused and afraid for the future. Both hatchlings at heart. At that moment, though, I had to push it aside, taking on the role of an older sister, like with Stumpy. I had to. For him.

"I— I—" M stuttered as he spluttered. "I'm sorry. I'm so, so, so, so, s-s-sorry."

Nothing I said would've cut it, so I just stroked the back of his head, letting him vent all he needed to. There was nothing else in the room aside from me and him then.

"C-Curio," he said, looking up at me with his reddened eyes, "what am I supposed to do? My sister… she's gone. It's all my fault."

"No, I saw what happened, believe me." I gave him another pat from behind. "You were all in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"T-then—" he backed away from my arms, clapping his paws together— "I'll say sorry to Shine!" He wiped the tears away, glancing at the Pokeball. "I-er, he did nothing wrong. I don't know why, just, everything was tough, and I saw him as those Luxio, and I was dumb, and…" He trailed off, punching at his head again. It seemed like he was doing that as a punishment response. I wasn't having any of it, so I grabbed his arms.

"It's okay, you panicked." No, wait, what was I saying? M seemed smart, so he could've taken a bit of flak at that time. "Well, he'd appreciate you saying sorry. That's the least you can do for him." M shook his arms again, though I kept a firm grip. "If I let go, will your stop hurting yourself?"

He sniffled. "I-I'll try."

I smiled and softened my hold on him, letting him rub his paws. Once he gathered himself, he fell to his knees, clutching his body. "Still, what do I do?" He sighed. "I don't know what I'm doing here. Everyone else came to learn and I… I… I've wasted these two years."

"You said two years; that means you can count and tell time. So you did learn something."

"I-I mean, in the future. Everyone has something to do. I have nothing. So where do I go? I don't wanna be with a trainer if it means fighting again. No more. No more hurting."

That seemed like a crucial moment. If he was lost and looking for a reason to live after all that happened, well, it was like having to save him all over again. So I cycled through those memories quickly, finding anything I could've latched on to. Sis. What did she like? She liked the pink flower, of course, and she wanted to learn the name of it, so, how could we have found out? Through books, of course. But what book? Would GeL have botanical books in their library, and who would use it? There was a Roselia from the domestic group. Of course.

I didn't think that would've cut it, of course, but again, something to go on. If he found out about her, that would've sparked some sort of drive within him.

"M," I said. "Your sis wanted to know about that flower, right?"

He nodded.

"I think there's someone we can ask. I want to see if it will help you find some peace."

With that out of the way, the room re-emerged around me, with Rhode and the ranger staring at us, analysing our every move. I held onto M's paw in case he felt uneasy, and turned my head to the two. " _Is that Roselia around? I forgot her name, but we need to talk to her, with M. And get her to bring that book of hers."_

The two looked at each other, then Rhode sighed, flicking one of his dreads. " _Och, I'll go. Can't let 'im go off on his own yet. But I'll be quick, just gotta drag Lorelei here."_ He winked at me. "I feel I know exactly what yer talkin' about, C."

"Do it," I said with a smirk.

* * *

I held the line while Rhode went off on his own. I sensed his aura for a bit as he rushed through the halls, though I still held onto M. I did that for so long, I forgot the ranger was even in the room. Right, her. I didn't know what to think about her, with what she said about M and him being just a feral. Telling her off would've been in order if it wasn't for her expression. She was still deep in thought, but what she was actually thinking, though, she was reflecting on what Rhode told her and how she viewed us two.

"I can tell you're using your aura," she said. "I know that look."

" _O-oh, sorry,"_ I said, " _invasion of privacy."_

"Don't sweat it, kid." She crossed her arms and smiled. "For what it's worth, though, you did change my mind about this case."

I looked to M, who seemed unfazed. I still didn't know if he understood human speech, though he was calm for now. " _Uh, thanks?"_

"I mean, I'm still being cautious." She leaned against the wall. "You can't let your guard down with this sort of thing. But, well, you've got me more interested in M now."

I clutched him for comfort. " _He's been through enough."_

"No, I mean, forget it." She sighed. "I just haven't seen a case like this, is all. He's, well, from the way he acts and from what Rhode told me, he needs a lot of help, more than I was expecting. And if he finds it, then it can't just be the standard re-wilding or trainer procedure. If what the higher ups told me was true, and with my own experience, he needs to be somewhere in the middle of all of this. Not like a zoo, a battle arena or a school, but, well, some place."

There was one question burning in my head. I never got to ask an outsider what they thought GeL was like. After that scuffle a day or two before with the staff, that desire to know intensified.

" _What do you think of this place? About them teaching Pokemon like us?"_

"Honestly," she said with a laugh, "I'm all rooting for you."

That was the moment Rhode entered, with Lorelei, the Roselia, walking in by his feet. Lorelei, well, I never got the chance to talk to her that much, but I often saw her inspecting the flowers in the wild base. While they were real, the garden itself obviously wasn't, but that gave her enough to work with. They even planted more flowers in there just for her sake. Still, with her rose-like hands, it didn't give her much of a sleight of hand, or paw, or leaf. So, the much more able-bodied Lucario held the book for her.

"Here." He held up the cover for all to see, and like in the painting I saw, that illustration featured the same bunch of flowers arranged neatly in front of an abstract background. M even recognised this as well, and budging out of my grip, ran to reach out for the book. Rhode dropped it on the floor, letting him flick through the pages, one by one. Lorelei looked on, a bit unnerved by M's presence, but nonetheless intrigued by what she saw.

"Oh my, stop on any page you want me to, and I'll explain it for you."

M nodded, swiping and flicking, until he found that one. That pink flower. Same arrangements of petals, same spiralling patterns, kind of like a rose, but not quite. He stared at it for a moment, then, traced his claw along the page where the text was. Even if M might not've understood what that text said, Lorelei confirmed it for him in words.

"This is a Camellia, my love. It can come in red, white, pink, and grows in shrubs. It does look pretty when viewed up close, doesn't it?"

"Ca…" M said. "Me… lli… a… Camellia." His eyes shot up and he stood, stomping up and down the floor. "Camellia! Camellia! Camellia!" M raised his paws, spinning in place as he held his arms towards the bright ceiling. A wide smile broke out on his face, lost in the simple pleasure of finding something long lost. I'll admit, that sort of energy spread to me, despite everything, and every other Pokemon in the room felt the same.

That didn't last long as M stopped and fell to his knees again. "You didn't have a name. I didn't believe we needed one. But now, I want to remember you by something. Not just a memory, but as something I can say in one word." He stood up again, and despite the sniffles, pointed to Rhode. "I wanna bury Sis. Never found her body, but there's a Teddiursa doll where I used to be. Can we go to the forest?"

Without hesitation, Rhode nodded, patting the ranger's shoulder. " _Lad wants to go to the wild base and have a mock burial. Please, we 'ave to let him do this."_

"As long as you all keep an eye on him. If we hit a trigger again, then that's going to be a problem."

" _O' course. We'll make sure that doesn't 'appen. Right, C?"_

" _Yeah."_

* * *

At the request of Rhode, everyone already in the wild base cleared up, taking their stuff somewhere else. It was just me, M, Rhode and the ranger in the garden, basking in the solar light and feeling the fake grass between our paws. The topsoil was deep enough to be dug up, since Hans the Ambipom often hid his own rubbish in the turf so he could eat it later, or throw it at someone. Both were just as gross, but that wasn't the point. M cradled the Teddiursa doll, whose head was taped back on just for the purpose of this. He nuzzled her, then gently laid the doll on the floor. From there, he got to work.

He clawed at the soil, digging clumps of it out of the floor. He dug, dug, dug his way down until he could dig no more, making the hole wide enough for someone the size of a Cubone. Or in this case, the doll. With that done, he picked up the Teddiursa and moved her to the crevice at the bottom. Then, he put the clumps back into place, covering the body from the neck down until it was no longer visible. All there was left was the head. The Teddiursa's button eyes stared up at the sky, with an artificial sun shining above it. M took one last look at her face, growing misty eyed again, but just barely holding himself together. He filled out the rest of the turf, and finally, buried the entirety of the doll under the garden floor.

I held a bundle of flowers in my paws, picked out by the Roselia. I didn't know the names of them exactly, but apparently, they stood for remembrance. A lot of them were white. Gently, I placed it just behind the dug up spot. Apparently, Rhode would tell the staff to order a plaque later, so everyone knew what it was there for. After that was done, silence. I didn't know what to say. I expected Rhode to come up with something, but he just stood, observing M with intense concentration. Lorelei and the ranger were pretty much the same, just closing their eyes in quiet contemplation.

Damnit, what do you want me to say in this situation? Retelling this is bad enough, but thinking back to that silence, that awful, awful silence, it really drove in how whacked the whole thing was. Who would've given a speech for this? What was there to say? Nothing. That lasted for a long time, save for the ambient noises of birdsong and rustling leaves the speakers played.

Then, M sang. Just like what his memory suggested, it was a nameless song, one without lyrics, without melody, without anything to speak of. They were just sounds. Sounds that were soothing. Sounds that came from the heart, the soul. Sounds only a Marowak to his sister, or a Marowak mother to their cub, could've sung. Not in human tongue, not in Pokemon tongue, but a language only he would have known.

Who knows how long that song lasted for? It could've been a minute. It could've been an hour. But once it ended, M bowed before the grave and capped it off with this:

"Bye, Camellia."


	38. To The (M)oon

The whole room was silent. Tony stopped recording for a moment and stood up, stretching his arms. Curio occupied herself by downing the rest of the beer bottle until there was no more left. Well, she tapped the bottom of the glass, trying to get a few last droplets out of it. Shine went to his trainer for comfort, letting Tony stroke his head as he thought about Curio's interview.

He knew a part of it already from what she told him at his bedside, but hearing her confrontation with M first hand put the rest of it into perspective. He knew everything of that event that was previously repressed: M's run in with the Luxio pack, his sister, the grave in the wild base. It would still take a while for Shine to fully process as the spot ached where the missing eye was, but the fog in his mind lightened up at least. For Curio to bear the brunt of that and be the dominant storyteller there, surely that must've taken a toll on her too.

"Do we still want to continue?" Tony asked, slumping onto the chair. "Your choice, you two."

Both Shine and Curio nodded in reply.

" _I've gotta wrap up something,"_ Curio said. _"The worst is over for now, so I might as well cap this off with what happened. I think you get the picture though about M."_

"Yes." Tony frowned, looking to Shine. "I, er, still don't know what to think about that Marowak, though I want to be impartial for this interview."

" _Think what you want; I don't care."_ Curio took a deep breath, tilting the bottle in her metal arm. She looked at it as if she was inspecting the label on the glass. _"Random question: what are your parents like, Tony?"_

That came out of nowhere. Where was she going with this?

"I'm sorry?" he said.

" _Ah, you don't hafta answer if you don't wanna. I just wanna know if they treated you right."_

"Ah." Tony placed his hands on his lap, drumming his fingers on them. "Well, yes. They were tough times. We weren't exactly well off, after all, but we pulled through together. And I still talk to them, even though they're in Alola, so that says something about our bond, at least."

" _I liked them when they came down here,"_ Shine said in the midst of his head pats. _"They seemed more like friends with Tony than, you know."_

Tony chuckled, ruffling Shine's mane. "You're not the only one who says that."

" _Well, not everyone can say they go on pub crawls with their parents, I don't think."_

" _Sounds like the dream, there, going out with your parents and such."_ Curio sighed, gripping the bottle tighter in her metal fist. _"I asked because of this M thing. His mother, and you know, the thing with my Dad and Bolt and whatnot. You know what, fuck those three. Fuck the lot of 'em."_

The mood of the room changed. Shine straightened his back, fixing his gaze on the subject on the couch.

" _You know, if I were in their shoes, I wouldn't have done that, no matter how hard it was. Whatever you're goin' through, you don't take that shit out on your own kids."_

She sighed, closing in her metal fist on the glass.

" _I, just, I just don't understand why they had to be such horrible people. Why do-"_

The bottle shattered in her hand, fragments falling into her lap. Curio immediately sprang up, wiping the glass off of her and onto the couch as she muttered various swears under her breath. Shine also sprang for the dustpan and brush, grabbing it with his mouth and dropping it by Curio's side.

" _Sorryic!"_ Curio hiccuped. _"Sorry, didn't mean to make a mess."_

"No, that's fine, Curio." Tony downed the rest of his bottle. "But I know what you mean. It's hard being a parent. I just consider myself lucky I was raised by the right people." He hummed to himself. "I can't say I've experienced something like that in my childhood."

" _Yeah, well, good."_ She was done picking all of the bits up as she placed the dustpan in the corner of the room. For good measure, she patted herself down before sitting back on the hot seat. A moment passed. And then, Curio laughed, stifling herself with her paw. Shine looked on, unnerved by all of this. He didn't want to go as far as to say that about Bolt, even though the heartache was real. But was that the right reaction for him to have?

" _Oh, sorry, I don't find any of this funny, just, aw man."_ She clutched her chest, still snickering. _"Okay, I'm good. Might just be the booze talkin'."_

"You sure?"

" _Yup. Homestretch, baby. Nowhere else to go from here but up. Yaaaaaaaay."_

* * *

 **(Okay, so. Sorry, I don't have a good question for all of this. My head's a little overstuffed at the moment.)**

It's fine. I said you needed a drink for that.

 **(True. So, what happened? With Shine? With M? And after all of that with GeL?)**

Well, lots of things. But let's just get to the part where GeL finally went 'don't let the door hit your tail on the way out' to M. Not that we wanted to, but whatever.

For his last day, M returned to the wild base with us, and naturally, everyone there was on guard. When your school is basically your dorm as well, word spreads fast. Since it was his last day, I tmade sure nobody turned on him while I was around. The first thing he did was check out the plaque by his sister's grave. Indeed, it read 'Camellia (for M)', with a new bundle of fresh flowers. That Marowak stared at it for a while.

"Ca… aa… mmmmmmm…" M traced his claw over the inscribed letters, repeating them in order. "Ca…me-lee-ah. F-o-r M…" He pointed to himself, a smile spreading across his face. "That's my name!"

"You read that?" I asked, perplexed.

"Y-yes, I think." M sat back, bringing his paws to his lap. "I tried to learn what they taught me. It didn't work. But now, I…"

"Again, you learnt something. You know what numbers and letters are. You're aware of yourself. You should be proud of those things."

"Maybe. Maybe I'd like to learn later. But I don't belong here. Not smart enough."

"That's nonsense." I sat back with my paws behind my head, staring up at the fake sky. Even though it wasn't real, it was still nice to look at every once in a while with all those blues and whites. I took a deep breath, imagining I smelled cut grass around me, if I knew what scent that was. "Smarts don't matter. I'm not smart. And I know you tried as well, so you weren't just goofing off. They said it wasn't your fault."

"I know." He stood up, appearing above me. "I like it here. The Pokemon are nice. The staff are nice." His eyes drooped. "I'm not nice. I've hurt people here; I can't change that. And I don't want to be enemies to everyone here." He sat back down in front of me, cradling himself. "Will… will Shine see me? I want to say I'm sorry before I go."

I saw Shine in the infirmary a few times, since I was allowed to now, and for the first day or so, he took it really hard.

 **(It was like my brain was being poked by a skewer non-stop with my eye missing, even when I was hooked up to the charging station.)**

Yeah, basically that until he took the painkillers. He was a bit slower on the uptake since he was constantly tired, but at least he could've talked that way. So in short, I relayed what I had learnt about M through that aura-digging session, and from there, he asked specifically if he could see M at some point, only if he wanted to, which was a no brainer.

"He's up," I said, looking to the door. "And yeah, he should be fine with that, but it might be a bit of a shock when you see him."

However reluctant he was, I knew he wanted to power through it regardless. So, M tilted his head up, determined. "Alright, let's go."

So, infirmary time again. I stopped outside the door to take a breather, holding onto M's paw just so he could be seen with a guardian. While I was allowed on certain grounds, I didn't just want to barge in, so I tapped at the door with my spike.

"Yes?" The nurse peered out, eyeing me first. "Oh, Curio, of course! And…" Who else did it lead to but M? Her face took on a more sour expression then, as if M had just guffed in the halls.

" _It's fine,"_ I said. _"Shine wants to see him, and there's no… wait a sec."_ Never mind where I put the dang thing, but I pulled out a note from Cartwright saying M was under my supervision.

"Do you mind if I stay in the room then?" She crossed her arms, still not pleased by the whole thing, and who could blame her? "I was still in the middle of doing a check up on Shine, and, well, you know. But I trust you."

She stepped back, allowing me and M to enter. You know what the infirmary looks like by now, so just focus on Shine for now. His wounds were all patched up, and even though that bed was hideously oversized for a Luxio, it looked comfortable. It didn't change the fact that his eye was missing. Still no chance of bringing that back. But when he saw me, Shine smiled and tried to adjust himself in bed so he could sit up. He only had the energy to move his paw.

"Curio," Shine croaked, "you… brought…" That was when he caught M. His lips creased into a frown, though on closer inspection, I didn't see any anger inside it, just trepidation. I didn't even need to look into his aura that time; if he was outright scared, he would've curled up into a ball there. Still, when M saw Shine again, I had to reassure him that everything was fine since he squeezed my paw.

"He won't lash out at you," I whispered, kneeling over to him, "just relax."

M muttered, trying to form the words under his breath. "Okay." He sighed and looked to Shine. "S-Shine. I'm… sorry."

Silence. Dead silence. I could tell he had more to say, but again, had trouble putting it into exact words. Kind of like me when I started learning the human tongue. Shine seemed rather perplexed, as much as he could've reacted in that drug-fueled haze. I knew the meat of it though, so I wanted to throw him a bone. "Do you want me to help?"

He shook his head. "Won't count if I don't do it myself. I…" M continued, glancing at the spot where Shine's right eye used to be. "I… wasn't thinking. You… not your fault. All mine. All mine. I…"

M pulled himself away from my paw and ran to the corner of the room, taking deep breaths. The nurse was still wary of him, and I suspected she would've taken action if he was left to his own devices, so I stepped in, joining M.

"I…" he said, "can't do it. Can't. He'll never forgive me."

"Hey," I whispered, stroking the back of his head, "Shine's nice. I'm sure he'll understand, and besides, you did say you were sorry right there. So…"

I hoped Shine would respond, and fortunately, he had his paw up, wanting to speak. So I tried to wrangle M back there. "Let's hear what he has to say. It'll be fine."

His breathing slowed, and in time, he took my paw again as we walked to the side of the bed. Shine gained a little bit more strength and turned to his side to look straight at the Marowak.

"You… went through a lot… I'm sorry… you…"

"No, no, no." M shook his head violently. "Why are you sorry? You did nothing."

"Those… never mind. Curio told me."

I'm not sure if M was pleased to hear that, but who else would've let Shine know about what happened?

"I-I'm still scared," he said, a little more lucid this time. "I can't forget about that day, that moment when you chased me up the stairs. I thought I was going to die. Do you know what that feels like?"

M went stiff. "You… Yes. Like… everything goes slow."

"Yes, that."

More silence. It was starting to become deafening at that point, and wanting to break it, I just dropped into the conversation. "…and?"

"Sorry." Shine forced a laboured chuckle. "I… know what to say, but have a hard time saying it." He pondered for a moment, then at last, back to M with a slight smile. "I think I understand. You…um… you must've been just as scared as me, I guess. So… I…" One peek into him said **forgive** , but for whatever reason, he couldn't bring himself to say it out loud. I knew he wanted to, though.

Before he could complete that thought, the door opened. Bolt stepped in, that Manectric I knew all too well. I watched as he entered, suppressing the urge to lash out at him, especially since he was in the same room as Shine. He went to the nurse first, asking her if he could see Shine as well, which she accepted. Then it was his turn to stand next to Shine. I half expected Bolt to lecture him again about being weak, but to my surprise, he licked his face, getting a chuckle out of Shine.

"Tickles," he said.

"I guess so," Bolt grumbled, looking to M next. He licked him across the face as well, which seemed to snap the tension between them. "Oh, M, you look a lot better than you did before."

"S-sorry," he said. "For knocking you out, and for Shine. I dunno if he—"

"I know what you're thinking. Sorry if I interrupted you two. We're going to leave soon." He stepped back, clearing his throat. "But first, I wanted to apologise for the trouble I caused you three."

That came as a surprise. "You did?" I blurted out, regretting it. Bolt just grunted in response, brushing it to the side.

"If I had been more aware of both your troubles, Shine, M, this wouldn't have happened." He looked to Shine first. "I… should have listened to you before when you were trying to talk about your problems."

"Yes," Shine said, frowning. "S-sorry, but I can't forget that either."

"That's fair. And M," to the Marowak next, "well, you'll see. I'll tell you more about it later, okay?"

He hummed to himself, looking to Shine once more, since this probably would've been the last opportunity to say anything. Slowly, he approached that bedridden Luxio, cautiously raising his paw to touch his. I kept my guard up in case anything else happened. Thankfully, nothing did, as Shine grasped at his paw, holding it there and looking into each other's eyes. They lingered on that moment for a long time as Bolt patiently waited beside the bed. Both their thoughts were in tune with one another, saying what words couldn't have expressed. Finally, M released his grip and joined Bolt as he headed for the door.

I followed, and in the hallway, there was the ranger, Lucy the co-director, Azzy the teacher and his human partner Mack.

"Thank you, Curio," Lucy said with a reluctant bow as M and Bolt joined the group. "We'll take it from here."

As relieved as I was to have M off my paws, it seemed like things were whizzing by too suddenly. Already, we were about to say our last goodbyes before seeing each other off.

" _Um,"_ I started in human, _"where is he going?"_

M cocked his head, trying to listen into my speech, though whether or not he understood it was up in the air. Putting that aside, Lucy stepped forward, about to explain.

" _He'll be under Bolt and the ranger's supervision. Part of the ranger's duty is rehabilitating wild Pokemon, but this isn't an ordinary case, is it?"_

"No." The ranger took her gloves off and rubbed her bare hands. "GeL's contacted a professor, someone who can give M more of a closer look, but for now, he'll be under my wing."

" _And, well…"_ Bolt sighed as static bristled across his fur. _"I'm out of a job anyway."_ Before Lucy could respond to that, he chuckled. _"But they said I'd be better off looking after M and helping out the ranger. They need more Pokemon like me, apparently."_

"I mean, takes a wild mon to know a wild mon, doesn't it? Bonus points if they can talk."

" _Indeed. Well, we still don't really know what to do with him. The poor guy's still undecided, but—"_

"I want to help as well," M said, turning back to his tutor. You should've seen Bolt's expression; anything other than resting bitch face was an odd look on him. "If… um, if there are other wild Pokemon that are struggling out there, then I want to find them." M touched one of his scars, running his paw across his face. "They don't deserve to go through what I went through."

We were taken aback by that. Of course, I was happy to hear that after all he said, but it still didn't erase his past. Bolt smiled though, and relayed what he said in the human tongue. Finally, the ranger knelt down to pet M without fear, and he lowered his head to allow her to run her fingers through his scales. Better than him almost chomping her hand off.

While they were doing their own thing, I looked to Azzy and Mack, who both had bags slung across their backs, since I guessed they were clearing house.

" _What about you guys?"_ I asked, still a bit saddened that they quit, well, more for Azzy. I had talked to Mack occasionally, but there was nothing too special between us, so I barely mentioned him for a lot of this interview to be honest. _"Did you talk things out with GeL?"_

" _Yes,"_ that blue rabbit said, _"we've mostly patched things up, but me and my partner decided it was better for the both of us to leave anyway."_

"I was kind of piddled off with how they handled your family stuff myself, for what it's worth," Mack said.

" _I-it's fine,"_ I said, still unsure. _"I understand why they did it."_

" _Yes, we respect that."_ Azzy frowned. _"After everything else that happened, we just couldn't. So, me and Mack are going to go back to do what we did before this project."_

He talked about it a few times, but basically, before GeL approached the two, they had travelled through a lot of different regions to pass on their skills to Pokemon, hired by quite a few clients who were interested in teaching their Pokemon the human tongue amongst other things. What they were doing wasn't really illegal since they were just doing it privately, not as a whole schooling thing like GeL were doing. And they were getting a bit of bank from it as well, depending on who hired them.

" _That sounds nice."_ I hummed, trying to process my thoughts on the whole thing. _"Still sucks to see you go like that, teach."_

" _I know."_ Azzy took my paw. _"It's a shame to leave everyone here behind after teaching them for so long. But I've made my goodbyes and they seem to be doing fine, so I wish them all the best. And you especially…"_ He leaned in for a hug and I returned it carefully with my chest spike still there. _"I hope you'll find your place here."_

My place, huh? Since everything went Aspear-shaped, I hadn't decided what my place was or even if I'd continue what I did before in the focus sessions. Even when Azzy pulled away from me, I still couldn't think of a reply to that. And yet…

Well, to cut the crap, I decided to stay in the end. You know as much already. At that moment, Lucy still asked if I wanted to come with them or discuss further to find somewhere else, but I had already decided. Really, I had nowhere else to go, but even if I had, I'd be missing all my friends, I'd be missing all the memories I made there, and I'd be missing out on my studies. Even if I wasn't sure where I wanted to take my art, after thinking about it and watching all those films, ideas sprouted like seeds in my head. I wanted to try my paws at a few of the things, including making those mini figurines I saw in that film. If I found a niche there, then that would carry me through to the rest of my studies. If I was being somewhat selfish, hearing M's experiences made me decide that it was better for me here.

In any case, the rest were glad to hear it, though that didn't make our last goodbyes any less bittersweet. Azzy, M, even Bolt, would be going back to the outside world while I'd be back here. Before I saw them off for good, I wanted to speak to M again, alone this time, so we did exactly that, huddled next to a wall away from the group.

By the relaxed expression in his eyes and the way he carried himself in general, he had changed somewhat. Still, I had to make sure he was alright after all that.

"M," I whispered, "you seem a lot better since… you know."

He mumbled, scratching the bottom of his chin. "I'm not sure… It's… scary, thinking about everything. I still think about Camellia. I don't think that will go away."

I wasn't sure how to respond to that, not knowing that same sort of grief myself, so I just nodded.

"Things will be hard. I still get angry or sad sometimes." He smiled ever so slightly. "But… things will get better. I'm sure."

It's sounding a bit redundant at this point, but we also hugged it out before he left, except for longer than ever this time. After a while, his thoughts flooded into mine, and I saw one last memory there, of him and Camellia holding each other as they watched the sunset together. She still had the leg that time. The canvas of his mind was awash with reds, yellows, oranges and purples, with everything drenched in a warm haze. Eventually, his mother joined, wordlessly watching the two with sadness in her eyes, but she shrugged it off and joined them too, pulling them into her embrace.

And that's all she wrote.

* * *

 **(That's all for the second year?)**

Eh, there is something else I wanna get to. But after everything with M went down, our studies continued as normal. Lucy became the new language teacher, and there weren't any problems with the gap in the staff there. Rhode stood in as my tutor from then on, who I'll get to in a bit. But with no one left to tutor Shine after he recovered, wait, who stepped in?

 **(Allister, the writing tutor.)**

Alright, got it. So there was still a little bit of 'oh, where the hell do we go from here' after M left. But I ain't gonna talk about that. The aftermath. GeL apologising to everyone and all that. The slow build up to stuff being normal again. I will say, things got better once we put that aside. I got on with my focus and found my love for miniature sculpting instead. Once I got my paws around it, things fell into place. Others struggled, since Hans, that Ambipom, wasn't sure of where he wanted to go outside of training, except he was learning different things outside of battle that would've put him on par with a trainer. At least he was as full of piss and vinegar as ever. PZ, who had evolved into a Weavile, stopped making games, though he still wanted to code. How he did that was beyond me. Bran the Machoke kept changing subjects. I think the Gastly must've evolved into a Haunter.

Actually, her name was Poof, and I might have an interesting story to tell about her journey later. But I don't have enough time to go through her lot, so let's just focus on the bigger picture for now.

Abraxas, well, I didn't really bother. I wouldn't have peed on him if a Charmander lit him on fire. However, I didn't hear anyone else complaining about him since he got that detention, and when I passed by one of the rooms one day, I took a peek at his aura and saw him practising the cello. It sounded awful, but at least he had his energy focused on something else other than bitching for once.

There was a lot more that happened on a day to day basis, but there's literally no way I'm gonna be able to cover everything though. I'd be here until next morning yapping about it, so I'm gonna shut up and stick to one night. Do you remember what I said about Lexy playing the guitar and making a band and all that?

 **(Yes?)**

Well, he and his friends put out a mini-album, from what I remember. I don't know what you really call those things—-

 **(An EP.)**

Yeah, whatever, dweeb. Point is, he actually had a few songs they made up on their own, so he was performing as an opening act for another band in Veilstone and wanted people from the facility to come along, including Ellie, and, well, you guessed it, me.

 **(I didn't guess. Last time you talked about Lexy, you didn't seem on good terms with him.)**

Yeah, well, we patched things up since then. He said he was sorry for excluding me before, so we moved on. Besides, I was his partner for the sake of his studies, so I couldn't have burned the bridge there. In any case, GeL approved my visit to the place on the condition that Rhode looked after me throughout the trip. That, and I think he needed an excuse to get out of GeL for a bit as well. But as a precaution, he gave me cozies to wear for my spikes in case I bumped into anyone, which he wore himself. They were a bit tight, but I felt a bit safer going out in the knowledge that no one would be shishkobabbed on accident.

So that marked the second time I ventured outside GeL. I'll skip the long, boring bus trip and just get to the part where we stepped out into Veilstone City. Rhode thanked the driver as he guided me down the steps. It wasn't the first time I stepped foot into that city, but it was the first time I saw the outside other than the museum. So when I stepped off, I was in some sort of... thing. It was dark and had lots of other buses, all lit up by the streetlamps. Already, there was so much aura around me, I didn't know how I'd react at first. But it was fine. I remembered Rhode's breathing exercises whenever I felt overwhelmed, and I had him by my side. So he led the way.

Going through traffic was a weird experience as a Pokemon. Having to wait by the stop lights for the first time was a bit unnerving, especially with all the honking going on. I thought the cars were gonna swerve into the pavement and hit us. But once their lights turned red and ours turned green, Rhode took my paw and guided me through the road. So we were on the other side, safe and sound. Now we were out into the actual city area, and seeing the streets in all their glory, I had to stop and take in my surroundings.

It was nice to feel the breeze on my fur for once, the sight of real trees as well as the feel of the cool concrete underneath my paws. This was smack dab in the middle of a series of buildings which shot up several stories into the sky, all with humans and Pokemon hanging around and with lights glowing through the windows, giving me a view of the people inside. Just like the windows into their rooms, their aura gave me a window into their lives. Some were just chilling and watching TV. Some were playing beer pong with their Pokemon helping out. I even saw someone's Infernape hanging upside down on one of the balconies by their tail, casually eating a berry while their trainer smoked outside. It was night, but it was a warm sort of night, and the sky was clear, filled with stars. I was in awe of the whole thing. There was so much life everywhere.

"Quite the sight, en't it, lass?" Rhode said.

"You could say that." Not that there was much to say.

The more we walked, the more the town came to life before me. Some kids were having a battle with a Piplup and Chimchar in one of the neighbourhood roads we walked through. I thought of Dawn and Ash for some reason; we still watched that show, after all. Once we got further into the city, we passed by a few entertainment centres as well, where other trainers pulled levers down on machines with blinking lights while their Pokemon watched with bated breath. That must've been a casino or something. Even further than that, a pair of Glameow brushed past my legs, which got my attention. They seemed to be strays with their fur all frayed and their coat having some sort of slimy sheen to it. They stopped to stare at us two for a bit, then went on their way as they strutted through the streets, long tails intertwined with one another.

Sue me, I saw into their auras. They had seen a lot. Territory fights that ended in deaths. Motherless cubs roaming the streets. They also saw figures completely clad in black clothing, which was a complete mystery to me. But at least they had each other. The times they'd spent curled up beside air vents on the rooftops, keeping away from the cold night. The times they'd work together to catch their prey. The times they thought of having a litter together. Those thoughts and fleeting comforts would've been enough to last them through even the harshest winters.

"What you thinkin' about?" Rhode asked, patting my shoulder. Right, back to reality. Well, honestly, I was still in a lovestruck haze, but I didn't want to admit that to my tutor.

"Nothin'." I glanced to where the feline duo disappeared. "C'mon, let's go."

It would've only been a few more minutes until we reached our destination, according to Rhode. But during that walk, that gave me time to think, time to look back at that couple. I guess I hadn't really thought about those sorts of feelings before. There wasn't anyone that really interested me, not yet, but still, there was that growing hunger. Like something you didn't know you wanted yet, but felt was right anyway.

"You've got plenty o' time there, lass," Rhode blurted out. That was random. Or… wait, I connected the dots and snorted.

"None of your business!" I yelled. "Jeez, invasion of privacy, much?"

"You're one ta' talk, how many times've you peeked in my mind?"

"That's different! And hey, we all know you have the hots for Lucy!"

"I—" That must've touched a nerve. "I walked right into that one. Well, we have a… let's say, professional relationship."

"Excuses." I stuck my tongue out.

"Do that again and I'll yank it off." He gave me a wide smille. "But nah, don't feel like you hafta find a partner yet, lass. And when you do, well, keep that between yourselves, but just know it's a healthy thing to explore while you're in you-know-what. Oh!" He stopped, putting his paw in front of me. "I will let you know somethin' else. That place that must not be named, well, in time, once you're a bit older, you can start going out on yer own trips."

"Really?"

"Yeah. That won't be for some time though. Until then, come next year, we'll be doin' something like group trips as well. How'd you like that?"

Those all sounded exciting back then, even more so later on when we'd go on them for real. But that's for another time. We still had a gig to attend. So, a few minutes later, we reached our destination, going into an alleyway to where the club was. In my head, I expected it to be much bigger from the outside, but amongst the other shops that were closed, the doors to the venue were open where a few humans waited outside with kits, some of them smoking. All of them were clad in some sort of makeup or ridiculous hairstyle, but amongst those, I picked out the one with the green mohawk as Lexy. Ellie was by his side, wearing shoes this time, thank god. Lexy picked us two out and waved at us.

"Hey!" he called, "glad you could come!"

" _I wouldn't 'ave missed it for the world!"_ Rhode said as he approached, attracting the attention of Lexy's other groupies. I came in too, though I took a step back when I got a bit too close to the cigarette stink.

"Duuude," one of the younger members said, "did he just…"

"And his t-shirt, holy crap!" Another member pointed at Rhode's chest, which had a pattern of 4 black bars with some bold text to go along with it. "Didn't know Pokemon listened to Obb Stag!"

He just shrugged. _"Didn't know there was a rule that Pokemon couldn't. I'm a patron o' the arts all the same!"_

"Damn straight." Lexy said. "Oh! I didn't tell you about them, did I? These are my friends, Rhode and Curio!"

Rhode just smiled while I awkwardly waved. Friends was a bit of a stretch since we were mostly classmates, but it was nice to be called that.

"What do they do?" the older member said.

"Can he speak too?" the young guy said, pointing to me. Okay, what?

" _She,"_ I corrected. _"Do I really look like a guy?"_

" _I think you got your answer there, mate,"_ Ellie said, trying to hold back her laughter. The younger member slunk behind the group in response to that.

" _I mean,"_ Rhode chimed in, _"in all fairness, it ain't obvious, is it? We kinda look the same, like a lot of Pokemon. But let's say I was a girl. What am I supposed ta' do, put on makeup?"_

"Okay, okay, whatever." Lexy put his hand up, reigning it in. "But yeah, Rhode, well, it's a bit hard to explain, but Curio here's an artist!"

I put my paws behind my back. _"Eh, I'm still learnin'…"_

"You're too humble, Curio!" Ellie said, patting my arm. "I mean, with all the lessons we've had together, I think you've come a long way!"

"So your girl's worked with her before?" the older member asked Lexy. He nodded in reply. "Huh, well colour me curious."

Before I could respond to any of that, Rhode pulled something out of his own backpack: a miniature model of a Riolu sat atop a tree. That took weeks of work, with me just figuring stuff out on the fly, like how to cobble the right materials together and learning how to paint it. It was still pretty basic and I didn't really want massive amounts of praise for it. The older member thankfully hummed and said "not bad."

" _Again, still learnin'."_ I smiled, seeing how interested the others were. _"I wanna make better stuff than this, so I've been practisin' a lot."_

"Fair play," the older member said. "Keep at it."

Rhode put it back in his bag; any longer and I probably would've begged him to stop showing it off, then Lexy gestured to his group.

"We should be ready for the sound check soon, so we better go in. See ya, Els."

She smiled as they went in with their instrument cases, but not before they waved at us too. My insides felt like Butterfree were fluttering in them, but still came away from that conversation pleased. So anyway, we came in after them, going down the steps to some sort of underground club.

Humans crowded around the bar and stage areas with no Pokemon in sight at all; the odour of sweat and beer surrounding us. The floor was sticky as well, which I groaned at. Already, I felt out of place there, and that wasn't even getting into how damn noisy the place was. There was chatter all around, and even though I suppressed my aura, with that many people smooshed together, it felt crowded in there. Music blared from the speakers as well, which was not only loud, but aggressive, with lots of drums, distorted guitars and growly vocals. Seeing this, Rhode handed me a set of earplugs, which wasn't really designed for my canine ears, but did the job well enough that it stopped being so overwhelming.

"Nervous?" he asked, which I nodded to. "It's natural."

"Don't other Pokemon come to this place at all?"

"Nah, lass. It's not really meant for them in mind, though I'm sure there's some that come in here. It's not like we're banned or anythin'."

"True." I glanced at a few of the patrons, some old, some new, that stared at us.

" _Hey, listen,"_ Rhode said to me in the human tongue, I guess for their benefit. _"Don't worry about the looks we're gettin'. I'm sure they don't mind us here, and that they're just interested, is all."_

" _But what if someone doesn't want me here and—"_

" _Ah, bollocks to that. You know what, if anyone tries to pee on your parade, tell 'em to get stuffed. It's not their problem and they shouldn't be yours, understand?"_

The bystanders turned away from us. I took it they got the picture, but I still wasn't sure. I didn't want them to feel awkward around us, and from what I read with their aura, that was definitely the case. Not antagonistic, just not sure how to react with me around. There it was again, that feeling of being singled out. I turned towards the front door and would've walked if it wasn't for Rhode's paw brushing against mine.

"Hey. Y'want a drink? Nothing stiff, just something that might ease you in a bit."

Despite my fears about how this would all go down, I couldn't say no to free stuff. Hooray for mooching off of people, I guess. I won't go through the whole process of ordering, though it was my first time actually giving money to a human in person. Rhode let me handle the remaining change, and when the person behind the bar asked for the money, I counted it up and gave it to him, trying not to notice how slow I was going with the line behind me. But anyway, I passed that stage, and we both had a pint of cola to drink from, so we sat in a quieter place of the club where there was a free couch for us to sit on. At last, time to relax. I took a sip of my drink; the first time I had anything fizzy like that, mind you, and hiccuped. Well that was something, but it tasted nice anyway, and I took another cautious sip.

"Yeah, not the healthiest thing, mind," Rhode said, taking a swig of his own, "lots o' sugar. But think of it as a treat."

"Thanks a lot, teach." I swirled the pint glass in my paw and sighed, glancing at the walls. Guitars, punk posters and records were mounted on there, giving it a retro vibe, not that I was cultured enough to understand that. Still, it gave the place a nice atmosphere, or it would've been if it weren't for the presence of the other humans. "Does it… get easier?"

"Huh—hic!" Even Rhode found the drink a bit too much for his taste buds. "Huh?"

"I mean, talkin' to humans, or at least bein' with them. When I'm on my own with 'em, I'm fine, but in a place like this… I still dunno. Just so many people in one small place."

"Yeh, I get what you mean." He patted me on the back and smiled. "I do think you've come far though. And that's somethin' we'll work on building your confidence with next year. Once we start goin' out more, we can give you more freedom there. Just take it in little steps."

"Yeah, I guess so."

He hummed, taking another swig.

"I put you on the spot earlier with that figure thing, didn't I?"

"Oh, n-no, just not what I expected." Another awkward sip. "It's not like I—" Another poorly timed hiccup. "Not like I'm like a pro or anythin'."

"Still, no shame in showin' it off. And who's to say you won't be?"

I sank further in my seat, still feeling under pressure. Again, I enjoyed making art, but whether I could make something of myself doing just that, I didn't know. And those were big shoes to fill, even though it was impossible for me to wear them. At least it seemed to be.

"Okay, okay, I don't wanna heap too much on you, lass." He leaned back. "But you have plenty of time. These clowns here—" he gestured to the row of humans lining up— "they've had lots of time to go through life an' fail. Twenty years, thirty years, even more. You're barely even four years old, a teenager in human years, if I recall. Plenty of time left for you to just explore stuff, huh?"

He gently nudged my arm with his elbow.

"I mean, yeah, there's lots of stuff I wanna do. But what if I do… just okay? What if I don't end up havin' my stuff up on display or somethin'? Would that still be enough?"

"That's not the point." Rhode put his glass down on the table. "We're not expectin' you to change the world or make lots of money or become famous or whatever. You don't need to impress anyone, really." He turned to me with a warm smile. "Just do what makes you happy."

That got me to smile as well.

"Anyways…" Rhode took his glass once more. "The world's your Cloyster. Don't mean to be schmaltzy or whatever, but I believe in you lot, no matter what you guys do. Let's just make the most of it, huh?" He raised his glass between us, tipping the bottom forward. "Cheers to another three years!"

I saw that glass-clinking move before in a movie and wanted to do the same. In my excitement, I raised my glass too and nudged it against his. He glugged his and I did the same with mine, swigging it down in one big mouthful. It might've turned into a bit of a belching contest after, but I'll spare you the details.

So, time passed, and eventually, Rhode guided me to the pit in the middle. It was cramped in there, and I was worried my spikes would catch someone when I remembered I had those protective covers on. Still, I had never been in such a crowd before. That Butterfree feeling rose up again, and it wasn't just the fizzy stuff in my system. Then, Lexy and his band came along to a quiet mix of cheers, instruments all in hand.

No fancy intro, no bells and whistles. Lexy strummed the first distorted notes of his guitar and the band joined in, crashing drums cymbals, slapping bass strings, and the young member in the front yelling into the mic. This was a far cry from the stuff Lexy played during our check up sessions together. For the first minute, it just seemed like noise, and I just stood there, taking it all in while the rest in front bobbed their heads in rhythm. Was I not getting it at all? I thought about turning away when Rhode joined in, doing some sort of a jig. The way he stepped in tune and moved like he didn't have a care in the world; that was a new look on him. I tapped my feet along with the song, finding a groove there, and then, just danced.

I lost myself in the rhythm. I became yet another figure in the crowd, stepping in time and stomping my paws to the pounding amps. There was no other feeling like it, not even watching films, making art, or battling, it was something completely different. It was great and fun and tiring, but really awesome and…

Okay, I'm gonna shut up now.


	39. Ambrette's Sleepover

Curio shifted her weight, lying down on the couch with a great big yawn. _"I'm so totally done with tonight, I swear to god."_

"Ditto to that," Tony said, stretching in his chair. "Thanks for sticking with it, everyone. You both did a great job. Jeez." Tony sighed and took his glasses off, wiping his eyes. They looked a lot smaller when uncovered by that lens. "Yeah, I'm spent for tonight too. What time is it?" He squinted at his phone, then in the same breath, his eyes widened. "Past midnight?"

" _Woah,"_ Curio said, _"I think we hit a new record there."_ She started laughing out of nowhere, which slowly dwindled into a sigh. _"Okay then, now what? I feel like there's a lot more I wanna say, but—"_ that broke off into another yawn— _"you know what, this couch is really nice. Forget it."_

Tony smiled, standing up as he removed the camera from its tripod and scrolled through the screen. "Glad I got a good deal on that one."

" _Speaking of deals…"_ Curio laid on her side, looking to both Shine and Tony. _"I gave you a really bum deal before, Tony. Sorry again."_

That was news to Shine. Again? So she apologised before? Never mind, they had buried the hatchet a day ago, so he put that at the back of his mind, but Shine sat still, taking in where the rest of the conversation would go.

"Well, I appreciate that you stepped forward to apologise. I know that's hard, given your stance on humans. I—"

" _No, that's not why I was so pissed."_ She took a deep breath and stared at the ceiling, putting her metal hand behind her head. _"I don't hate humans at all; I freaking love 'em. All the stuff they do, you know, it's inspiring. There are a few dipshits here and there, but there are also a lot of dipshits in the Pokemon kingdom. And the humans I meet I do get to talk to, well, whenever I have long, interestin' conversations with 'em, I forget I'm a Pokemon."_

" _It's the trainers she specifically doesn't get along with,"_ Shine chimed in with a flat tone, repeating it for Tony's benefit.

"Ah…" He scratched his head. "Well… I can't exactly help being Shine's trainer. And we haven't even had one single battle since I got the license, so he had no obligation to do anything a typical trainer would expect him to do, really. Is that what you thought at first?"

" _Yeah, exactly."_ Another sigh from her. _"I thought you pulled him away from the stuff he wanted to do, like writing. That's why I planted the bucket on the roof."_

"Huh, that's… interesting." Tony snapped the camera screen back into place, turning it over in his hands. "I thought that was just directed at me in general."

" _Nope."_ Yet another sigh, then Curio sat back up with a newfound rage in her eyes. _"Look, as a Pokemon, you really don't know what you have until you get it taken away from you. My time with a trainer back then was hell. No sculpting. No drawing. Just fighting. Each day I wasted with that bitch, bits of myself just slipped away."_ She grit her teeth. _"I wasn't gonna let that happen again with Shine and his dreams."_

" _My dreams?"_ Shine said, rising up. _"You don't know what my dreams are now."_

" _Yeah, you're right, I don't."_ She crossed her arms. _"And I was stupid. But you guys know what I mean, right?"_

Shine did, despite everything hurtful she said before. Tony laid the camera down on the seat and took a deep breath.

"Um, Curio, I think there was a bit of a misunderstanding. I never stopped Shine from doing anything. Hell, if I knew he was into writing, then I would've found groups for him." His tone was a bit more desperate there while still being quiet, waving one hand around to make his point. "I already try to encourage him to do the things he enjoys doing. So, I dunno what to say to that." He stomped one foot on the floor, trying to hold himself together.

" _Tony,"_ Shine said with a lump in his throat, _"you wouldn't have known unless I told you. Besides…"_ he trailed off, thinking back to all those fractured memories, those broken dreams, and how they festered in him for ages. _"I made the choice to stop doing it. I just couldn't start again after what happened."_ Even thinking about it set him on edge, but Shine put it to the side for now. _"If I wanted to, I could've looked for groups myself, or continued my works in progress. I just lost the spark for it though, and I don't think I want to try it again_."

Another bout of silence. Tick, tock. A few sighs there. All the while, Shine felt the eyes of the two most important people in his life boring into him, both sorrowful.

" _So…"_ Shine said with a nervous smile. _"I think that answers your question, Curio?"_

" _Yeah, yeah, it does."_ She relaxed her gaze, then yawned again, lying down on the couch in the most comfortable position she could with her tail tucked away. _"You know what, both of you are awesome. Both of you…"_ Another stretched-out yawn. _"Are doing great…"_ She closed her eyes, breathing in and out as she tried to fall asleep.

Shine and Tony were left on their own with the silence again.

"I'm gonna get another drink and back this up." Tony turned towards the door, taking the camera with him. "I want to talk to you for a bit, if you're not too tired."

His tone didn't suggest he was telling him off. While Shine was a bit groggy and stiff from sitting for so long, there were still some loose ends he wanted to tie up with his trainer. So, he agreed and went along with him to the kitchen where Tony opened another beer, then to the computer desk where he connected the memory card to the desktop. While the backing up process was going on, Tony turned around in his chair and took a big swig from his bottle. Shine couldn't say he was pleased to see his trainer drinking, but it wasn't his place to judge.

"Well, I'm thinking about what Curio said about your writing and what you mentioned you were doing once the second year calmed down. Did you want to tell me this now or on the record?"

Shine paused, humming to himself as he looked at his bookcase-bed combo in the corner of the room. He read a lot, and frequently got inspiration for what he'd pursue in his own worlds, just like the fantasy authors he revered so much. Being online was also a good chance for him to pretend to be someone he wasn't, but… was it worth it? All that time he spent at GeL, and did he manage to do something with it in the end? Now wasn't the time to think about that; Tony was still looking at him expectantly.

" _Um, off the record."_ He sat on his haunches, maintaining eye contact with Tony. _"I think…. Allister let me go to one of his writing classes with the other students, and over time, I got to share my work with everyone else and also talk to the human classmates about what they were working on."_

"Was that just one session?"

" _No, a few. We workshopped quite a bit, so we got to make our own stories in a group under a time limit, well, I helped as I brainstormed ideas since I couldn't write that well, but when I brought my own stories in, I got a lot of good advice there. So that was nice."_

"What stories?"

Shine grumbled, looking down at his feet. _"I'm… sorry. I don't remember that bit that well. Like Curio, I did quite a bit, but unlike her, the exact details of each project I worked on are hazy. Besides, I wouldn't want to bore you with that."_

Tony sighed. "Look, I wouldn't have asked if I wasn't interested." That struck him as a bit too severe, but his trainer relented, taking another swig. "Sorry, just, it's great to hear you worked on something like that. And a shame that you stopped. That sort of creative hobby might've been another good outlet for you too."

" _I know."_ Shine stood up and approached Tony, getting a closer look at his face. He wore a poker face, but through his uncovered eyes, there was a lot of turmoil going on in them.

"I, um…" Tony held up his glasses, absent-mindedly polishing them. "Do you think I could've done more to help? When Curio mentioned that and what happened with her trainer, you know, I felt kind of bad." He gripped his glasses tightly. "I should've known since you were so interested in your books and all that."

" _That's not your fault."_ Shine's lip trembled, trying to avoid those stirring emotions within him, but he suppressed it and put his big paws on Tony's lap. _"You do more than enough for me without overriding your life. And I know things are hard for you already, I can take the hint."_

Tony blanched at that, putting his frames to the side. "I—"

" _You don't need to put on a show about it either. If you're struggling, then I want to know as well."_ His grip tightened, lightly digging his claws into the fabric of Tony's shorts. _"We're in this together. If you want to get something off your chest, just say it."_

Tony held Shine's paws, stroking them with his thumb, and looked to the hi-fi set of the living-room wall. "The video can wait. Do you mind if we sit over there and talk over some TV?"

So that was that. The screen switched on as Tony sat down with his legs on the cushion, with a remote in one hand and beer in the other. Shine sat next to him, curled up close as best as a Luxray could've done on a couch meant for humans. Finally, Tony settled on one channel which played late night reruns of that cop show he seemed to enjoy: featuring a drug-busting police officer and her Arcanine going on adventures with various capers on their hands and paws. Shine liked to watch it himself sometimes when he needed to turn his brain off, and while Tony warmed himself up by taking sips from his bottle, face redder with each passing minute, the show eventually faded into the background as it was just them.

"So," Tony started, "well, I won't lie, this has been on my mind for some time lately. Especially with the interviews we've had."

" _About… me?"_ Shine asked.

"Well, sort of, but also about my own life these past few years, ever since we met."

Shine grumbled, thinking back to those days out in the streets, the slow bond Tony developed with Shine, and everything that followed after. He remembered being very sick at one point, and that was all he wanted to remember for that moment. Tony already interviewed him about it before he started the GeL work in progress, so that was one chapter of his life he could put behind him. His trainer poured all that energy into working towards a full license, and not only that, caring for Shine in general. Moving out of Sinnoh and finding a new work placement here. Moving into an apartment of his own and getting everything settled.

Those years were a blur at the moment with everything else going on, but it worked out for the best for both of them. Then, what was Tony thinking? If he wasn't pleased with the way things were going, then he would've understood. And so, Shine finally mustered up the courage for one simple question.

" _Yes, then what?"_

"Well, I'm not sure what next." He sighed. "Lately, I feel like I'm not getting anywhere. I mean, I like my job and all. I feel great in that area, even with the office politics that goes on. But, well, between this and the interview, I haven't focused that much on my own life."

Shine was afraid he'd say that, though he also expected it. _"I… well, I understand."_

"I mean, it's no one's fault. Especially not yours." He brought his hand up to Shine's chin, scratching lightly underneath there. "In fact, back then, when I was nobody but an intern, you were the best thing that happened to me."

" _O-oh."_ He wasn't quite sure how to take that. _"Well, thank you."_

"And I really do mean that, Shine. You were a good friend when I was on my own, and still are."

There was a pause. Shine lost himself in that moment, being pet by the person he trusted the most. He awaited a response though, but Tony found none, instead, focusing on the TV. A scene played at the end of the cop show where, after solving a long case, the officer enjoyed a bit of banter with a fellow police man as they had coffee and donuts at their house. They exchanged biting remarks, but clearly had a connection with one another from the way that they spoke, in the teasing but not mean-spirited sort of way. That was reflected by their own Pokemon as well, as the male Arcanine playfully chased the female Houndoom. How long did they tease at that ship for?

"You know what, I'm just going to say it: I want to ask Ines out."

Shine rose at that and sat up. Now, that was a surprise. She went with Tony on quite a few trips, especially with their marine excursions outside of work, but nothing suggested they were too close. Then again, he didn't know what their working relationship was like exactly. Well, she shared lunch with Tony at breaktime, and outside of work, also gave Tony pointers on how to edit his own videos and put them out on the web when he was still learning. Aside from that, Shine didn't pry into it too much.

" _You do? Since when?"_

"It's been a slow burn, I admit." Tony took another swig, his face turning beetroot at this point. "Heck—hic!" His first hiccup. Was he about to go down for the count as well? "I don't think I told you much, y'know." His voice was slipping a little. "Whenever we work together, in the office or with some help on my own videos, I feel something there though." He frowned, putting the half-empty bottle to the side. "Since I've had my hands full with this project though, and I haven't talked about it with anyone else aside from you, well…" His hands interlocked together. "That means I've been seeing her less."

That made sense, so he wasn't disappointed to find that out. Shine sat back down, nestling against Tony's side. _"Take some time out to do that, then. I'll be fine."_

"You'd do that?" Tony pulled his hands away. "I mean, I didn't want to suggest it was your fault. And if you're still recovering from learning about M again, then—"

" _Oh, I'm fine."_ Shine lightly butted his head against his trainer's body. _"You know, when Curio retold that story about him, about that second year…"_ He smiled. _"I felt… relieved. And now I want to continue riding that high. You know, you keep saying I should go out more, but I actually want to do it this time. And talk to more people as well!"_

"Well," Tony said, "don't feel you have to do everything at once."

" _Of course. But I want to try doing what I can."_ Shine leaned closer into Tony. _"And I want you to do the same with Ines. Now that I think about it, me and Curio could give you time alone to get your feelings out there. Maybe we could travel together, if she wants."_

"Oh? Would you be fine after, you know, you had that episode earlier?"

" _Y-yes."_ He wasn't sure himself, but he pulled his way out of it there. He just needed to remember what happened in case it happened again. He talked it out with Barley last time and pulled through. He had a friend there. And if he was together with Curio, then he would do the same with her if he was in a bind, and vice versa. _"I can handle it."_

"Alright. It won't happen right away, and we've still got that thing tomorrow, so I might ask her then. She still might be busy, though."

" _Of course."_

At that moment, Tony pulled him in for a hug, stroking his coat in all the right places. "You've come a long way though, Shine. I'm really proud of you."

Again, he didn't know how to take that compliment. Still, even though the worst was far from over, even though there still would've been days when they struggled together, he was more hopeful than ever. If they kept it up, if Shine kept pushing himself and continuing on with the lessons and his budding social life, then there was the possibility that he would change for the better.

Tony's eyes relaxed and his grip on the Luxray loosened, though those two stayed in that embrace for a little longer. Shine let out a big yawn, and the two very nearly fell asleep on the same couch together. Through Shine's blurry vision, ads played on the TV, which, like the show, were just background noise. Except for one. A quick ad for Lucario's cereal played: a mess of oats and chocolate chunks, because of course. Why was Curio on the TV now? Wait, no she wasn't, that was just a generic cartoon of her species. That's right, Curio.

There was one other thing Shine wanted to do before turning in for the night. Curio was still in the studio. Hopefully, she hadn't thrown up in there and was just sleeping soundly, but he wanted to check up on her anyway in case the alcohol took a toll on her. He slunk out of Tony's embrace and padded through the apartment into his room, taking a blanket from the storage closet. From there, he crept into the photo room. She was still asleep, turned on her side and facing towards Shine. It was the first time he saw her like that. Come to think of it, even when they slept at the PokeRoom and by the beach, he was the one that always fell asleep first.

He approached her, heart beating faster with each step forward. Curio lightly snored underneath her breath, fast asleep. With the blanket in his teeth, Shine stood on his hindlegs, being careful to not accidentally wake her up, and draped the cover over her with his mouth. He took extra care to leave the face uncovered. With the job done, Shine sat back down, pleased that Curio was a lot more comfortable, at least to his eye. He would take one last look at her before leaving for Tony's couch.

She shifted slightly and stopped snoring, grunting instead. Time stood still with each breath her and Shine took, one asleep, the other awake. Then, Curio sniffled. Tears fell down her face in one unbroken stream like rivers bursting through dams. She was still asleep throughout all of it.

Shine sighed and sat at the edge of the couch, below where Curio sat. Still a few sniffles here and there, but they were soft cries at the most. It must've been a condition of some sort, but how did it start? When did it start?

Perhaps it was best to ask her in the morning. For now, Shine lay down, making himself comfortable on the studio floor in case Curio woke up. If she needed someone to talk to as well, he'd be there. Crazy to think their reunion was nearly a week ago.

It was a nice week.

 **[End of Part 1: Fractured Memories]**

* * *

 **Author's Note:** And that's it for Part 1 of The Curious and the Shiny! Not the end of the story, period, since there's still a Part 2, but I think this is a good place to put a checkpoint on TCATS since we've reached the point where the premise of the fic has been flipped on its head. This was one of the main moments I was building up to, and from here, I might as well drop the GeL pretense, since, well, you've seen it for yourselves. There will be a couple more interlude chapters before the proper 2nd part starts, but I will probably be doing them at a later date.

For more information, since this fic has been so long so far, I'm splitting it up into two parts. Everything before this point will retroactively be called Part 1: Fractured Memories, while the next one will be called Part 2: Broken Dreams, continuing on from The Growth Arc. But anyways...

This has been a wild ride so far. I really wasn't expecting to write this much of TCATS going into it. Considering its length so far at over 200k words throughout the course of two years, I'm surprised I kept it going for so long.

The reason I've decided to split this up into parts is because I want to take a hiatus from writing fanfiction for a little while. At least, until the next NaNoWriMo event, or maybe before that. The reason for this is that I want to focus on original writing and experiment more with new concepts, as well as extend some of the themes seen in TCATS. As much as I love writing this story, not being able to show it to many people outside the fanfic community does distance me a bit from the writing community, when it's something I want to network with and get a foot into the industry with.

That's not to say I'll be cutting myself out of the fanfiction community entirely. I might pitch in with some one shots in between then, and I have another surprise in store for y'all that aren't as caught up. Since I've revised everything up until the start of The Growth Arc, I'll soon be updating chapters 1-17 with new revisions. They include minor changes to the events within the story with nothing too substantial, but there's a lot more focus on expanding the characterisation this time around, especially in regards to the flawed first arc. So changes more for the benefit of first time readers or readers that dropped the story around that point before. That will be my last outing before I shift focus away from TCATS.

In any case, I want to thank everyone who stuck through this story, even though it might've been a bit slow paced at times, and I hope you'll stick around for more of this fic and my future works as well! See you around!


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